L t 


ts&t. 


v;.v  ••••',  .  :•. 


H  O  ME-LIFE 


IN    GERMANY 


CHARLES    LORING    BRACE, 

AUTHOR    OF    "HUNGARY    IN    1861." 


'  We  want  a  history  of  firesides."—  "WKB8TM. 


KEW  YOKE : 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER,  145  NASSAU  STREET. 

1853. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853,  by 

CHAKLES    SCEIBNEE, 
In  the  Clem's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  Tort 


Stereotyped  and  Priuted  by 

C.  W.  BENEDICT 
801  William  Street,  N.  Y. 


PKEFACE. 


THERE  are  very  many  things  we  want  to  know  about 
foreign  countries,  which  we  never  do  know  from  books. 
What  people  eat  and  what  they  drink,  how  they  amuse 
themselves,  what  their  habits  are  at  home,  what  furniture 
they  have,  how  their  houses  look,  and  above  all,  what  the 
usual  talk  and  tone  of  thought  is,  among  the  great  middle 
classes  of  a  country — these  things  are  interesting,  and 
are  very  hard  to  learn,  except  from  travellers  them- 
selves. 

WEBSTEK,  in  almost  his  last  great  speech,  said  with 
reference  to  England,  "  there  is  still  wanting,  *  *  *, 
"  a  history  which  shall  trace  the  progress  of  social  life,  in 
"  the  intercourse  of  man  with  man  ;  the  advance  of  arts, 
"  the  various  changes  in  the  habits  and  occupations  of 
"  individuals,  and  improvements  in  domestic  life.  We 
''  still  have  not  the  means  of  learning  *  *  *  how  our 


20513S2 


iv 


PREFACE. 


"  ancestors  in  their  houses,  were  fed,  and  lodged,  and 
"  clothed,  and  what  were  their  daily  employments.  We 
"  want  a  history  of  firesides.  *  *  *  We  wish  to  see 
"  more,  and  to  know  more,  of  the  changes  which  took 
"  place  from  age  to  age  in  the  homes  of  England."  * 

Of  course,  what  I  have  given  in  this  volume  of  the 
"  Home-Lite  of  Germany,"  can  only  be  a  suggestion  for 
such  a  History  of  the  Germans.  My  observations  are 
merely  the  glimpses  of  a  traveller,  welcomed  intimately 
in  the  homes  of  North  and  Middle  Germany,  during 
parts  of  two  years.  To  the  German,  they  will  seem  often 
superficial ;  still,  they  may  be  valuable  hereafter,  as  the 
impressions  of  a  stranger  upon  a  subject  of  which  so  little 
is  usually  written  or  known — the  internal  social  habits 
and  thought  of  a  leading  civilized  Nation.  It  will  be 
seen  that  my  facts  and  experiences  are  mostly  gained 
from  association  with  the  middle  classes.  These — the 
men  of  business,  the  farmers,  the  merchants,  the  lawyers 
and  scholars — are  the  influential  portion  of  a  People,  who 
stamp  especially  its  social  character.  It  is  their  habits 
and  manners  we  mean,  when  we  speak  of  the  social  life 
of -the  Germans. 

In  view  of  this  plan.  I  shall  be  pardoned  if  I  have 
"cut"  entirely  guide-books,  and  the  usual  objects  of 
interest  to  the  tourist. 

No  one  can  understand  even  the  modern  domestic  life 
of  Germany,  without  knowing  something  -of  its  Past. 
With  intelligent  men  of  foreign  countries,  there  is  usually 


PREFACE.  y 

the  utmost  vagueness  of  idea  as  to  what  Germany  is,  or 
what  it  has  been  ;  or  what  changes  have  brought  it  to  its 
present  form.  I  have  accordingly  devoted  several  chap- 
ters to  Political  and  Theological  History,  as  indispensable 
to  a  right  understanding  of  my  subject. 

I  have  tried  to  give  a  true  picture  of  German  Home- 
Life,  and  all  will,  of  course,  draw  their  own  conclusions. 
But  I  do  not  hesitate  to  confess  that  a  definite  purpose 
has  been  before  me.  It  has  seemed  to  me  that  in  this 
universal  greed  for  money,  in  this  clangor  and  whirl 
of  American  life,  in  the  wasteful  habits  everywhere 
growing  up,  and  in  the  little  heed  given  to  quiet  home 
enjoyment,  or  to  the  pleasures  from  Art  and  Beauty,  a 
voice  from  those  calm,  genial  old  German  homes,  might 
be  of  good  to  us  ; — telling  of  a  more  simple,  economical 
habit,  of  sunny  and  friendly  hospitalities,  of  quiet  cultured 
tastes,  and  of  a  Home-Life,  whose  affection  and  cheer- 
fulness make  the  outside  "World  as  nothing  in  the 
comparison. 

On  but  one  subject,  do  I  hesitate  much  at  my  conclu- 
sions. I  earnestly  wish  they  may  be  proved  incorrect. 
I  mean  my  remarks  upon  the  German  religious  character. 
On  those  solemn  and  mysterious  relations  which  bind 
'  man  with  his  Maker,  I  would  be  the  last  to  speak 
dogmatically.  The  expression  of  the  religious  Principle 
is  not  to  be  limited  by  any  local  or  partial  measure. 

Still,  the  observations,  sad  as  they  are,  which  I  have 


VI 


PREEACE. 


stated,  seemed  to  me  true  of  the  masses  of  the  people. 
Our  hope  is,  however,  for  Germany,  that  the  darkest  time 
of  Unbelief  has  past,  and  that  a  day  of  purer  Faith  and 
Reason  is  dawning. 

CHARLES  LORING  BRACE. 
YORK,  March,  1853. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L— FKOM  LEITH  TO  HAMBITBO.—  Meeting  with  a  German  gentleman- 
Roughing  it  in  the  second  cabin — Talk  about  German  economy — The  firemen — 
Storm — The  port  of  Hamburg, 18 

CHAPTER  II.— HAMBUBO.— The  great  fire— Style  of  building— Supper  with  a 
friend — Introduction  to  a  German  home — Furniture — Simplicity — Arrangement 
of  rooms — The  beds — Mr.  Lindley;  hia  works — A  country-seat — Lunch — 
Dishes— Table-talk -Dinner  conversation— "Inner  Mission"— MB.  WICHBBN,  19 

CHAPTER  IIL— SOCIAL  LIFE.— German  habits— Meals— Courses— Wine-drink- 
ing—Impressions  of  America — A  dinner — Talk  between  a  clergyman  and  a 
sceptic— Discussion  on  a  State-church, 82 

CHAPTER  IV.— A  GK.RMAN  LADY.— Miss  Sieveking ;  her  benevolent  efforts—  An 
interview— Blunderings— Her  good  sense— Ideas  of  women's  sphere— Institu- 
tions she  had  started— Heroism— Her  appeal  to  the  German  women, 89 

CHAPTER  V.— EXCURSION  TO  THB  DUCHIES.— A  rail-road  station— Eating— The 
rooms — The  cars — Smoking  forbidden — Peasants — Their  politeness — A  foot 
again — My  walk — The  scenery — Low  German — A  visit  to  a  country  house— 
The  welcome, 48-56 

THAPTER  VL— A  HOLSTKIN  FABM.— The  house— The  grounds— Farming—  Drain- 
ing— Horses— Peasants'  cottages— Singular  style— Number  of  peasants— Their 
education— Laws  oa  Religion— Holstein  scenery— Mode  of  life— Manners- 
Silent  "  grace  "—Hospitality— The  Father— Con  versatton  about  the  War, OT 


viii  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEE  VIL— THK  CAMP8.-Jonrney— Etmx— An  Inn— A  political  meeting- 
Extempore  speaking-German  Sociality-KtBL— Middle  Holstein— Bends- 
burgh— The  approach-"  Panoramas"  of  the  War— English  officers- A  pleasant 
evening- Walk  to  the  camps  -The  army— Visit  to  a  lieutenant— The  position- 
Fortifications— Student-soldiers— Their'quarters-Supper-Keturn  by  night, ... 


CHAPTER  VIII.— THB  WAR  or  THIS  DCCHIBS.— Origin-Three  demands  of  the 
insurgents— Letter  of  the  Danish  King-Interference  of  the  German  League— 
New  Constitution-Outbreak  in  '4»-Its  results-The  position  of  foreign  govern- 
ments— The  war  not  constitutional, 


CHAPTEE  IX.— HAMBURG.— A  walk— The  Spanish  undertakers— Talk  with  a 
friend— The  prosperity  of  the  city— "The  Rough  House"— Its  formation— The 
appearance — Wichera— Elihu  Burritt — An  interlude — The  plan  of  the  Institu- 
tion— "Groupings"— Overseers— The  children — Their  homes — Occupations— 
Work-shops — The  girls — The  practical  success — Its  profit—"  A  Home  among 
flowers," 88 

CHAPTER  X.— A  BREAKFAST.— Duchy  of  MECKLENBURG— Letters  of  introduc- 
tion—Cordiality— "Morning  coffee"— Talk  with  a  Liberal— The  mother's  views 
—A  warm  discussion— German  disagreements— A  Sunday— The  services— mode 
of  spending  it— The  walk— German  idea  of  the  day— An  American  Sabbath,.. .  91 


CHAPTER  XL— BERLIN. —War— Recruiting  the  army— Excitement— Strength  of 
Austria— Prussian  claims— Real  objects— The  King— His  character— Bnrritt's 
peace-efforts, 10T 

CHAPTER  XII— BERLIN.— Its  taste— Architecture  -Associations— Old  Frederick 
—The  statues— The  night-march— New  Museum— Its  classic  style— A  Greek 
tragedy  on  the  stage— Classic  costumes— The  acting— Its  consistency— Music,  113 

CHAPTER  XIII.— LIB*  IN  BKBLIN.— My  lodgings— Landlady— German  manners 
—Salutations— Politeness— Visit  to  a  Royalist— Statuary— Tasteful  furniture- 
Argument  on  Eepublicanism— Enthusiasm— Poetic  theories— Friendly  parting 
—A  letter  from  a  Royal  ist  lady— Geniality. 121 


CONTENTS. 


PAGB 

CHAPTER  XIV.— A.  DINNBS  PARTY.— Berlin  house— The  wall-painting— Fnrni- 
turo — Conversation  on  the  mode  of  life — Economy — "Parties'" — Ladies' questions 
— American  gallantry — Sociality — News  from  the  "War — German  "  Punch" — The 
Prussian  literati — Talk  over  the  coffee — Degeneracy  of  our  language — Ladies' 
expletives — Books  read — Jane  Eyre— Dr.  Arnold — Views  of  America — My  de- 
fence,   ..  180 


CHAPTER  XV. — TIIK  GERMAN  PASTOE — The  walk  to  his  house — The  "study"— 
His  parish — The  number— Rationalism — Labors — Lodging-houses — Saving-soci- 
eties—Temperance-society— Salary— Mode  of  forming  churches— Confirmation- 
Anecdote,  140 

CHAPTER  XVI.— PAINTINGS.— Modern  German  Art— Kaulbach  and  Cornelius— 
"The  battle  of  the  Huns"— Berlin  Museum  gallery— Spiritual  conceptions- 
Painters'  ideal  pf  CHRIST— Disappointment  in  Art ;  its  true  sphere, 181 

CHAPTER  XVII.— DRESDEN.— The  Saxons— War— Galleries  closed— Population 
and  statistics  of  Saxony— Character  of  people— Evils  of  petty  governments— Ar- 
tists of  the  city— HESSK-CASSEL— Conflict  between  Elector  and  people— Inter- 
vention—Sad result, 158 

CHAPTER  XVIIT.— STUDENT  LIFB.— Halle—  A  visit— Dr.  Tholuck ;  his  "  conversa- 
tion-party"—The  remarks— His  labors— Coffee-party  with  students— Lecture  on 
student-life—  Long  talks — Radicalism — Costume — Manners  to  professors — A  jovial 
gathering — The  war-song, 16T 

CHAPTER  XIX. — UNIVERSITIES.— Contrast  between  American  and  German — 
Causes— MAGDEBURG — HANOVER — The  King;  his  rough  way — An  incident — 
Rights  bestowed  by  him— The  Steuerverein — Statistics  of  Hanover, 176 

CHAPTER  XX. — WINTER  AMUSEMENTS. — Skating — The  scene — Love  of  sports  in 
Europe — Difference  in  America — Effects— National  health— Practical  conclusion 
— Concerts — Specimen — Programmes  -Sing-Academie—  Prices  of  admission — 
Quartette  Soirees— Church  music— Mozart— Birth-day  party  at  a  pastor's— Rooms 
—Amusements— Woman's  position— The  courses— Toasts— Speeches— Philoso- 
phy of  eating, 184 


CONTENTS. 


FAGH 

CHAFIER  XXL-RONGB'S  SKOT.-A  transcendental  sermon-Walk  home  with  a 
lady— Unbelief— Discussion— Denial  of  a  future  life-Her  views- An  account  of 
the  Ronge  movement— The  Laura  hutte  letter ;  its  effects— Eonge's  history ;  his 
character— The  uncertainty  about  him— The  first  German  Catholic  churches; 
their  Creeds— Important  as  political  organizations, 201 


CUAPTEE  XXII.— POLITICS.— Tyranny  In  Prussia— Diplomacy— Vincke's  speech— 
—Prussia's  humiliation— Banishment  of  editors— New  press-law— A  soldier's  re- 

..    218 


CHAPTER  XXIII. —CiiKiSTMAS.— My  landlady— The  shoemaker's  tree— The  gaiety 
of  the  city— Sermons  upon  the  subject— The  eve— party  at  a  friend's— Tree- 
Presents—  Epigrams— Games— Christmas  hymn— Another  family— Enjoyment 
My  welcome— Reading  to  the  children— The  supper— Christmas-cakes 221 

CHAPTER  XXIV.~TnE  GBEMAN  UNION.— An  abstract  of  history— The  Empire 
—Formation  of  present  Constitution— Confederation  of  Rhine— Conferences  of 
Vienna, 227 


CHAPTER  XXV.— GEHMAN  CONFEDBBACY.— Articles  of  the  Treaty— The  i 

at  the  result— Later  proceedings  of  the  Diet ;  its  tyranny— NATIONAL  PABLIA- 

MKNTOfMS,..    285 

CHAPTER  XXVI.— LAST  ATTEMPTS  FOE  GEEMAN  UNION.— The  Parliament— The 
Prussian  Union— The  Austrian— Congress  of  Princes— Reestablishment  of  old 
Confederacy — llopes  for  future  Union. 245 

CHAPTER  XXVII.— THE  AEMY.— Interview  with  a  Prussian  officer;  his  opinions 
—Loyalty— The  rifle— The  Prussian  military  system— The  "  line"— Its  forma- 
tion—The Landwehr— The  Reserve— "Whole  number-Character  of  the  army— 
itscosts, 258 

CHAPTER  XXVIIL— AN  EVENING  PABTT.-Strictness  of  etiquette-Scientific  so- 
ciety— A  lady's  views  of  instinctive  passion— European  freedom  from  prudery- 
Card  playing-The  dance-Chat  with  a  lady— Hood's  poems— TJie  "spleen"— 
Sauerkraut—Defence  of  Hungary-The  retort  and  rebuke— Slavery,. 261 


CONTENTS. 


PAGl 

CHAPTER  XXIX.— THE  FETKS.— Anniversary  National  Festival— The  grand  Leve« 
—Liveries— Career  of  Prussia— Her  different  provinces— Silesia— The  famine  of 
'48-The  Press— Webster's  Letter— The  German  newspapers-The  Time*, 274 

CHAPTER  XXX.— A  VISIT  TO  THE  CHAMBERS.— Talk  with  a  Democrat— The  Re- 
view—Hatred of  tho  Church— Oar  walk— The  Prussian  Commons— The  Prime 
Minister— The  orators— Vincko— The  debate— Walk  home— Lunch— Conversa- 
tion on  Democracy— Constitution  of  Prussia ;  its  features, 282 

CHAPTER  XXXI.— SUNDAY  IN  GERMANY.— My  Landlady— The  Cathedral— The  ser- 
vice—Sermon— Quaint  subject — Talk  with  a  Skeptic — Danger  to  the  Protestant 
clergy— Warning— A  Baptist  meeting— Supper  at  Pastor 's— A  chat— Sects- 
Socialism — Children's  Questions— Indians — Family  customs — European  sermon- 
izing,   297 

CHAPTER  XXXIL— UNION  OF  GERMAN  CHURCHES— Different  forms— Luther  and 
Calvin— Dissensions— Efforts  at  reconciliation— Union  in  181T— New  Church 
service— Oppposition— Quarrels— Attempts  for  reunion  in  '46— The  failure, 812 

CHAPTER  XXXIII.— A  DAT  WITH  A  BURGER  —Our  party— The  silver  wedding 
—Ladies'  work— Stroll  in  the  gardens— Betrothal— A  lawyer;  his  labors— Juries 
— Peekveek — Talk  on  woman's  position — Lunch— German  bread— Puddings — 
Free  Trade  debate — German  and  American  manner — Phrenology — Dinner — The 
dishes — The  watchman, N 82T 

CHAPTER  XXXIV.— AMERICAN  STUDBNTS.— Berlin  University— Expenses— Its 
advantages — Mr.  Theo.  Fay — Rationalism  in  Germany — The  sad  aspect — Its  good 
effects — SGHLEIESMAOUER, » 845 

CHAPTER  XXXV.— DRESDEN. — Interview  with  Dr.  — — , — Slavery — Our  example 

— Our  disgrace — A  German  lady — My  visit— her  type  of  character, 852 

CHAFFER  XXXVI.— pRAGuE.-The  rail-road-First  view  of  Austria— Bank  notes 
—Currency— Walk  in  the  city— The  old  bridge— Evening  with  the  Professors- 
Reforms  in  Universities— The  Slavonic  movement, 860 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. — WALK  TO  LAURBNZIBKRQ.— My  companions  -The  Catholic 
worship— Costumes— Our  chat — The  grand  scene  —A  droll  warden — The  State's 
prison  —The  Jews — Freeing  the  peasants — The  convents, 869 


CONTENTS. 


PAQB 

CHAPTEB  XXXVIII.-A  BOHEMIAN  LADY.-Odd  housekeeping-Blunder-Long 
talk  upon  Catholicism-Confession-Bowing  to  Saints-Prayer-Celibacy-Jesuits 
—Barrenness  of  Protestant  worship— Lavatcr, 3l  6 

CHAPTER  XXXIX.— VIENNA.— Reflections— The  Carpathians— The  Prater— King 
of  Greece-Emperor's  turn  ottf-Connt  Grunne,  the  favorite- Shows— Costumes 
—Sports- Another  side— The  Cathedral  worship— The  priests'  appearance, 383 

CHAPTER  XI.— LIFE  IN  VIENNA.— The  homes— Dress  of  ladies-Morals— A  Bov- 
lutionist ;  his  hopes— A  Vienna  gentleman— Education— Count  Thun— A  dinner 
party-The  apartments— The  flower  vase— Chatting— Expense*  of  living— An  in- 
teresting  company— The  amateur  Revolutionist— Table  talk— Austrian  art— Ca- 
nova's  gronp— The  wines— Freo  Trade— Coffee  and  cigars— Story  of  Viennese 
manners-Marriage  in  high  life, 892 

CHAPTER  XLI.— VIENNA.— The  Turk —An  excursion— The  arsenal—Cariosity— 
The  Briel  dinner— Nine-pins— Peasants ;  their  degradation— An  evening  party- 
Austrian  Conservatives— Conversation — Finances — The  Times — "  Protection" — 
A  liberal  lady — Discussion  upon  Hungary — Mr.  Bowen — Kossuth— Austrian 
opinion  of  America— Argument— Admissions — Adieus — CONCLUSION, 410 

APPENDIX.— GERMAN  TARIFF-UNIONS. 

No.  I.— The  Zollverein ;  or  Prussian  Union 425 

No.  II.— The  Steuerverein ;  or  Hanoverian  Union 433 

No.  III.— The  Austrian  Union , ,  436 


SOCIAL   LIFE    IN   GERMANY, 


CHAPTER  I. 

FROM    1EITH    TO    HAMBURG. 

I  WAS  leaning  on  the  bulwarks  of  the  steamer,  watching  the  bold 
hills  behind  Edinburgh  gradually  sink  away,  and  the  long  line  of  blue 
mountains,  opposite  to  Leith,  become  more  and  more  mellow  in  the 
distance,  when  I  was  interrupted  by  a  pleasant  voice,  with 

"  The  Nature  is  very  fine  on  this  coast !"  I  assented  warmly, 
turned  and  found  a  man  leaning  on  the  fo'castle  house,  engaged  like 
myself  in  watching  the  receding  shore.  From  his  language,  though 
not  his  accent,  a  German,  I  judge — a  gentleman  evidently — tones 
refined  and  full — dress  very  simple,  shaggy  outside  coat,  rough  vest, 
coarse  gray  pantaloons,  but  with  a  neat  travelling  cap,  a  fine  shirt, 
and,  as  accidentally  appeared,  a  handsome  watch  and  chain — face 
closely  shaven,  like  the  English,  and  with  well-cut  features,  still  a 
German  face.  He  has  a  pamphlet  in  his  hand  which  he  has  been 
reading — very  likely,  some  North-German  gentleman,  who  has  been 
on  his  travels  in  England,  and  is  returning  home  by  way  of  Hamburg. 

We  fall  into  conversation ;  and  I  ask  him  soon  whether  he  has 
been  long  in  Scotland  ? 


14  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 

"  Oh  no,"  he  says,  "  only  since  three  months  in  Scotland,  but  a 
year  in  England."  He  is  not  very  communicative,  until  at  length, 
I  let  fall  incidentally,  that  I  am  an  American. 

"  I  am  very  glad,"  he  says,  "  I  thought  you  were  an  Englishman 
from  your  appearance,  and  I  always  am  a  little — eh  ? — genirt — how 
call  you  it  ? — embarrassed  with  an  English  traveller.  You  know 
how  they  are  to  strangers  ?" 

I  tell  him  that  I  like  the  Germans  veiy  much,  that  I  have  been 
on  my  travels  for  about  a  year,  mostly  on  foot,  and  last  year  that  I 
was  on  the  Rhine,  and  was  so  much  interested  in  South-Germany, 
that  I  determined  to  see  something  of  the  other  parts,  "  and  now  I 
am  going  to  Hamburg  for  that  purpose." 

This  confidential  account  of  my  plans  was  enough,  and  he  at  once 
spoke  as  frankly  with  me.  He  had  been  a  tutor  in  German  to  two 
young  Scotch  noblemen  on  the  lakes,  and  teacher  of  this  language 
in  one  of  the  English  Universities  ;  had  graduated  a  short  time  be- 
fore at  Bonn,  and  his  father  was  a  distinguished  scientific  man, 
whose  name  I  had  often  heard.  His  object  in  going  to  England 
was  to  perfect  himself  in  English,  and  to  earn  money  enough  to  con- 
tinue his  studies.  He  was  now  crossing  to  Berlin,  to  spend  the 
winter  there. 

Such  a  companion  was  an  especial  windfall  for  me,  but  I  was  in 
somewhat  of  a  perplexity.  I  had  sent  my  luggage — carpet-bag 
and  knapsack — down  to  the  steamer  in  Leith,  and  had  booked  my- 
self for  the  second  cabin,  for  Hamburg,  but  on  getting  on  to  the 
boat,  the  second  cabin  proved  to  be  filled  up  with  casks  and  spare 
canvass,  as  they  were  not  in  the  habit  of  taking  second-cabin  pas- 
sengers on  this  line  !  So  that  the  choice  was  left  me,  either  of  tak 
ing  a  first  cabin  passage  at  £2,  with  one  or  two  dull,  stiff-looking 
gentlemen,  or  of  "  roughing  it"  indiscriminately  for  three  days  with 


A    RENCONTRE.  15 


the  sailors  and  engine-hands,  at  £1.  A  part  of  my  plan,  through 
my  whole  journey,  had  been  to  see  the  undercrust  of  Europe,  as 
much  as  possible.  So  I  chose  the  latter.  But  this  appearance  of 
my  new  German  friend  made  a  difference,  and  I  told  him  the  case 
and  my  perplexity.  "So!  Vortrefflich !  excellent!"  said  he,  "I 
came  on  board  exactly  in  the  same  way.  Now  we  will  be  com- 
rades !"  and  we  shook  hands  heartily  over  it,  and  at  once  sat  down  on 
a  pile  of  canvass  for  a  long  chat. 

"  You  see,"  said  he,  "  a  pound  goes  a  great  way  in  Germany — as 
far  as  three  or  four  in  England — and  I  thought  I  might  as  well 
save  it  here.  It  would  carry  me  to  all  the  concerts  and  theatres  of 
the  winter  in  Berlin.  Besides,  I  should  like  to  get  acquainted  with 
these  fellows  here !"  and  he  pointed  to  the  crew  at  work  around  us. 
This  led  on  to  various  questionings  and  answerings  about  Germany 
and  German  habits. 

"  Would  you  like  to  have  your  wealthy  friends  know  you  travelled 
in  this  way  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Certainly,"  he  answered,  "  I  always  travelled  so,  when  I  was  a 
student,  and  half  the  Professors  do  it  now.  The  truth  is,  there  are 
not  many  circles-in  Germany,  where  poverty  is  a  disgrace.  It  is  not 
as  it  is  in  England  ;  our  higher  classes  are  not  ashamed  of  econo — 
what  is  your  word  ? — money-saving.  Ach — how  glad  I  shall  be  to 
be  back  in  the  old  Fatherland  again,  where  one  must  not  be  always 
looking  out,  for — that  for  which  we  have  no  German  word — the 
Respectability  !  " 

He  did  not  say  it  distinctly,  but  he  had  been  much  annoyed,  I 
should  gather,  while  a  teacher  in  England,  by  the  weight  of  caste 
above  him ;  and  he  longed  to  be  in  a  land  again,  where  a  man  is 
taken  for  what  he  is  worth,  and  not  for  what  his  grandfather  was. 

He  was  intending  to  spend  the  winter  in  Berlin,  and  I  meant  to 


16  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 

be  there  in  a  few  weeks.  We  engaged  to  meet,  if  possible.  I  then 
told  him  my  more  especial  plan.  I  had  seen  enough  of  the  usual 
Bights  of  travel,  and  I  wanted  particularly  now  to  see  German  soci- 
ety, to  become  acquainted  with  the  Home-life.  I  thought  an 
American  could  learn  more  from  that,  than  from  all  other  things  in 
Europe.  "  As  for  your  governments  and  your  institutions,  we  have 
little  to  gain  from  studying  those.  Your  Art,  I  hope  to  examine." 

"  Ach !  and  what  beautiful !  You  know  not  our  modern  Ger- 
man Art.  If  you  only  could  see  Kaulbach  and  Cornelius !— but 
•oar don!  go  on!" 

"  I  want  especially  to  see  how  you  Germans  live  and  talk  at 
home,  and  I  am  going  mostly  with  that  object.  Still  my  prospects 
do  not  seem  very  good,  as  I  have  only  three  letters  to  Hamburg  !" 

"  Es  Ihut  nichts  !  It  makes  no  difference !  You  need  not  the 
recommendation-letters.  If  you  like  the  Germans,  they  will  like 
you,  and  will  pass  you  on  from  one  to  the  other.  Only,  mein 
lieber  Herr,  is  your  mind  fully  made  up  for  the  Sauerkraut,  and  to 
renounce  your  English  port  ?" 

I  laughed,  and  made  him  the  earnest  assurance  that  it  was. 
"  Ach  !  how  you  will  our  Germany  enjoy  !  You  'are  right.  It  is 
the  Home  which  is  the  best  thing  with  us.  We  know  how  to  enjoy. 

Ah  !  when  shall  I  see  mine  again,  dear  L n !  way  off  on  the 

Rhine  !  the  sunny  Rhine  land  !"     He  was  looking  off  to  the  South, 
where  the  waves  were  gilded  under  the  setting  sun.     I  said  nothing. 

After  a  pause  we  were  soon  again  in  pleasant  conversation. 

'^What  do  you  think  it  would  cost  a  man  by  the  year,"  said  I, 
"  in  Berlin,  living  as  we  should  want  to  live  ?" 

"  It  is  very  different  in  different  quarters  of  the  city,"  he  replied, 
"  and  the  cost  will  so  vary,  as  one  shall  understand  the  modes  of  the 
place.  I  shall  take  a  room  in  one  of  the  best  street?,  dress  like  other 


CHATTING.  17 


gentlemen,  and  have  all  our  beet  pleasures — music,  the  art  and  the 
pleasantest  society — all  for  about  300  Shaler  ($225)  a  year.  It 
would  cost  you  or  a  stranger  more.  Berlin  is  more  expensive,  as — 
than  the  University-towns,  or  the  cities  in  Southern  Germany — 
Munich,  for  instance — I  have  lived  there  for  200  Shaler, — and  such 
nmsique  and  theatres !  But  in  general,  living  is  very  cheap  in 
Germany." 

Engaged  in  pleasant  talk,  we  hardly  noticed  that  the  evening  was 
coming  on,  until  we  remembered  that  there  were  sleeping  places  to 
get  for  the  night  Our  first  attempt  was  in  the  engine  room,  where 
we  found  some  sociably-inclined  firemen,  who  took  us  into  their  little 
cabin. 

We  were  all  soon  on  the  best  terms.  The  firemen  brought  out 
pipe?,  and  N.  (rny  German)  sent  for  whiskey  for  them.  I  took  a 
pipe,  and  we  sat  long  chatting  over  our  adventures. 

At  length  I  left  my  companion,  stowed  away  in  one  of  the  dirty 
berths,  and  went  forward  and  hired  a  bunk  of  one  of  the  hands,  in 
the  little  forecastle,  and  was  soon  sound  asleep. 

The  next  day  there  came  on  a  hard  storm — one  of  those  tremen- 
dous gales  which  sweep  often  across  the  German  Ocean.  The  waves 
poured  over  our  bows  in  a  constant  stream,  so  that  I  was  compelled 
to  keep  quietly  in  my  berth  all  day.  I  am  never  sea-sick,  and  was 
well  used  to  all  possible  rough  quarters,  but  I  thought  my  German 
friend  would  find  his  first  experience  in  cheap  travelling  in  English 
steamers,  rather  too  much  for  him.  He  did  come  forth  the  next 
day,  a  most  woe-begone,  soiled,  draggled-looking  man.  But  he 
only  laughed  at  his  own  miseries,  and  insisted  that  he  had  had  "  a 
grand  time"  with  the  boys  below. 

The  contrast  was  most  pleasant,  when  after  the  incessant  tossing 
and  rolling  for  three  days,  we  entered  the  quiet  river  of  the  Elbe  j 


18  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


and  a  few  hours  later,  came  to  anchor  before  the  long,  handtome 
quay  of  the  city  of  Hamburg. 

I  said  a  hearty  farewell  to  K,  who  was  going  up  to  Kiel  to  visit 
friends;  we  engaged  where  to  meet  in  Berlin.  My  luggage  was 
pitched  into  a  boat,  and  in  a  few  moments,  I  was  being  rowed 
quietly  along  through  the  still  canals,  overhung  with  trees,  and 
under  the  fantastic  warehouses  of  this  quaint  old  city.  A  polite 
bow  from  the  custom-house  officer  as  we  landed  ;  my  bags  passed 
without  examination  ;  and  behold  me  following  the  porter  through 
the  narrow  streets  of  old  Hamburg. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

HAMBURG,    AND    A    GEKMAN    HOUSE. 

October  9, 1860. 

HAMBURG  is,  a  much  more  interesting  city,  in  appearance,  than  I 
had  any  reason  to  suppose  from  the  accounts  of  travels  and  guide 
books. 

The  contrast  between  "  the  old  city"  and  the  new,  is  very  striking. 
The  quiet  antique  alleys,  like  those  of  the  Dutch  cities,  with  canals 
and  shade  trees,  and  fantastic  gables  and  rather  anomalous  statuary 
in  the  niches  of  the  walls  in  one  quarter,  and  in  the  other,  the 
grand,  new,  bustling  streets,  built  in  the  finest  style  of  modern 
architecture,  and  opening  out  imposingly  around  the  wide  Basin  of 
the  Alster. 

In  May,  of  the  year  1842,  a  great  fire  occurred  here,  which 
raged  for  four  days,  and  reduced  the  finest  part  of  the  city  to  ashes. 
Over  seventeen  hundred  houses  were  destroyed,  and  the  flames  were 
only  checked  by  the  skilful  exertions  of  an  English  engineer,  Mr. 
LINDLET,  of  whom  I  shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter.  After  the 
fire,  the  town  was  rebuilt  under  the  direction  of  this  gentleman,  ana 
in  a  very  complete  and  splendid  manner.  The  narrow,  unhealthy 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


alleys  were  widened ;  new  streets  laid  out ;  the  old  stagnant  ditches 
filled  up,  and  some  of  the  most  imposing  linos  of  buildings  erected, 
which  are  to  be  seen  in  Europe.  In  fact,  I  know  no  city  on  the 
continent,  whose  business-streets  make  so  fine  an  impression  at  first 
sight.  Stone  is  very  scarce  here,  so  that  nearly  all  the  houses  are 
built  of  brick,  with  a  hard  cement  or  stucco  over  it.  Either  the 
climate  is  more  favorable,  or  it  is  a  much  better  cement  than  with 
yS) — certainly  the  stuccoed  houses  look  far  better  than  in  our  cities ; 
and  it  has  afforded  an  opportunity  for  something  which  is  extremely 
needed  in  out  country,  that  is,  giving  to  each  house  its  own  peculiar 
ornament.  One  becomes  so  heartily  tired  of  long  rows  of  monoto- 
nous houses,  exactly  corresponding  to  each  other,  without  an  attempt 
at  variety  or  character.  Here  I  passed  through  streets  of  high, 
handsome  houses,  where  they  had  all  the  advantage  which  ours 
have — and  undoubtedly  it  is  an  advantage — of  a  succession  of  simi- 
lar parallel  lines  of  structure  on  the  front,  one  above  the  other ;  but, 
besides,  peculiar  independent  ornaments  to  each  building.  Every 
house  had  a  character.  Every  man  could  show  his  own  peculiar 
taste  on  ihe  front  of  his  home.  And  this  cement  gives  a  beautiful 
opportunity  for  all  kinds  of  graceful  moulding  and  ornament,  and 
even  for  small  statuary.  The  Hamburgers  have  improved  it  well. 

I  found  the  public  walks,  also,  and  gardens  of  the  city,  very  pleas- 
ing. The  old  bastions  are  laid  out  into  agreeable  promenades, 
which  were  gay  on  this  day  with  merry  parties.  At  length,  in  the 
evening  after  my  arrival,  after  much  pleasant  rambling  about  the 
city,  I  resolved  to  deliver  one  of  my  letters  of  introduction,  and 
while  away  an  hour  or  two.  With  some  delay,  I  found  the  house ; 
the  servant  carried  up  my  card  with  the  letter  ;  a  friendly,  hearty 
voice  bade  me  welcome  in  English,  and  I  found  myself  in  company 
with  a  genial  old  gentleman  and  two  younger  ones,  engaged  over  a 


INTRODUCTION.  21 


decanter  of  Teneriffe  and  a  round  of  cold  beef.  A  place  was  made 
for  me  at  once,  and  we  were  all  soon  in  animated  conversation. 
They  spoke  English  well,  and  were  very  much  interested  to  hear 
anything  of  America,  and  especially  of  our  recent  extravagancies 
about  Jenny  Lind.  Punch  seemed  the  great  authority  about  us, 
and  they  asked  if  "Barnum  would  really  smoke  at  her  concerts,  as 
he  is  there  pictured  !" 

After  the  supper  was  thoroughly  disposed  of,  cigars  were  lighted 
without  ceremony,  and  we  spent  a  long  evening  in  very  pleasant 
talk. 

They  entered  into  my  objects  of  seeing  German  life,  rather  than 
the  usual  sights,  with  much  interest ;  and  at  the  close,  I  had 
engaged  to  spend  the  next  day  with  the  old  gentleman,  and  to 
submit  myself  entirely  to  his  guidance.  It  was  late  in  the  evening 
when  I  groped  my  way  to  my  hotel,  very  happy  at  the  friendly 
•welcome  I  had  found  so  soon,  in  a  German  home. 


OCTOBER  — ,  1850. 

"  There  is  certainly  a  kind  of  simplicity  about  these  Ger- 
mans, which  one  does  not  see  in  America,"  I  thought  to 
myself,  as  I  sat  in  my  friend's  parlor,  the  next  morning,  in  a 
comfortable  house,  looking  out  over  the  Alster.  It  was  the 
house  of  a  man  of  fortune,  a  retired  merchant ;  yet  the  whole, 
though  bearing  tokens  of  a  cultivated  taste,  showed  a  remarkable 
plainness.  The  parlor  in  which  I  sat — a  high,  handsome  room, 
with  prettily-painted  ceiling  and  tasteful  papering,  had  no  carpet. 
The  furniture  was  simple  ;  there  was  no  grand  display  of  gilt  and 
crimson  anywhere  ;  and  it  was  evident  very  little  had  been  laid  out 
on  mere  splendor.  Yet  one  could  not  but  notice  how  carefully 


SOCIAL  LltE  IN   GERMANY. 


even  very  common  implements  had  been  chosen  with  reference  to 
grace  of  form.  The  candle-stands,  the  shade-lamps,  and  even  the 
pitcher,  or  the  common  vase,  had  something  exceedingly  graceful 
and  almost  classical  in  their  shape.  The  designs  of  the  music-hold- 
ers, and  of  the  table  ornaments,  caught  the  eye  at  once— every 
article  seemed  to  have  a  meaning.  The  pictures  on  the  walls  or  the 
table  were  not  expensive— often  mere  sketches  ;  yet  they  were  very 
pleasant  to  look  at,  and  had  not  been  placed  there,  evidently, 
merely  because  "  pictures  must  be  hung  in  every  respectable  parlor." 
The  figures  of  the  daguerreotypes  showed  the  same  traits  ;  not  for- 
midable ranks  of  stiff  forms,  but  easy  groups  around  some  animal, 
or  in  some  natural  position.  Theie  were  flowers,  too,  everywhere  ; 
and  especially  that  most  graceful  of  all, flower  vessels,  which  I  have 
seen  alone  in  Germany,  though  I  believe  it  came  from  Italy,  called 
the  "  Ampel"  It  is  simply  a  half  vase,  very  much  like  the  old 
Grecian  lamp,  hung  with  cords  from  the  ceiling,  with  some  flower- 
ing vine  in  it,  which  twines  and  wreaths  around  it ;  yet  the  beauty 
of  it  all  can  hardly  be  imagined.  The  only  exception  in  this  house 
to  the  general  good  taste,  was  the  high  white  Berlin  stove,  looking 
like  a  porcelain  tower"  with  gilt  battlements  ;  but  possibly  one  who 
is  accustomed  to  our  quiet,  sombre  machines,  must  need  a  little 
discipline  to  get  used  to  these  gay  articles. 

While  noticing  all  this,  my  friend  came  in  and  welcomed  me  cor- 
dially, as  he  had  hardly  expected  I  would  be  up  early  enough  to 
accept  his  invitation  to  breakfast.  "  We  keep  much  earlier  hours," 
said  he,  "  than  you  English.  Business  begins  here  at  eight,  where 
it  would  not  in  England  till  ten,  and  breakfast  is  even  earlier  than 
curs— usually  at  seven." 

The  breakfast  was  simply  coffee  and  Brodchen — little  bread-rolls 
—for  which  Hamburg  is  famous.  The  coffee  was  made  at  the  table 


HOUSEKEEPING.  23 

by  the  ladies,  as  it  is  in  France,  and  sometimes  with,  us,  by  pouring 
coiling  water  over  the  coffee  and  letting  it  drain  for  a  few  minutes 
in  a  machine  for  the  purpose ;  the  principal  care  being  that  it 
should  drain  slowly,  through  both  a  sieve  and  some  tissue  paper. 

After  breakfast,  we  went  out  to  look  at  the  garden.  The  house 
below — and  I  shall  not  fear  to  offend  my  friend  by  particularising, 
as  the  description  would  apply  to  two-thirds  of  the  houses  in 
Germany — resembles  the  upper  part  in  its  plainness  of  appearance. 
There  are  no  carpets  or  matting  on  the  stairway.  On  one  side  of 
the  hall  is  a  long  dining-room,  lined  with  portraits,  with  gilt  mold- 
ings and  tasteful  papering,  but  the  floor  again,  bare,  though  scrupu- 
lously neat.  There  are  handsome  curtains  at  the  windows  and  a 
few  substantial  articles  of  furniture,  but,  altogether,  it  has  a  rather 
naked  appearance,  and  probably  serves  as  a  dancing-room.  The 
other  side  of  the  hall  opens  into  a  small  room,  looking  out  on  the 
garden,  and  connected  with  a  pleasant  grapery,  which  is  warmed 
from  within,  as  grapes  cannot  be  raised  here  without  artificial  heat. 
This  room  is  used,  perhaps,  as  a  smoking  or  coffee-room — a  cool, 
shaded  room  for  the  summer. 

Like  most  of  the  buildings  here,  the  house  stands  directly  upon 
the  street.  The  outer  door  is  left  unlocked,  but  the  opening  it  stirs 
a  bell,  and  the  inner  door  is  unfastened  by  a  servant.  The  garden 
was  tasteful  and  pleasant,  with  the  fruits  and  flowers  of  a  northern 
climate.  It  is  singular  that  the  apples  here,  as  almost  everywhere 
in  Europe,  are  small  and  poor  in  flavor,  compared  to  ours.  My 
friend,  like  the  English,  considers  our  American  pippins  one  of  the 
rarest  and  most  beautiful  additions  to  a  dessert-table. 

The  other  parts  of  the  house,  so  far  as  I  saw  them,  had  the  sama 
general  air  of  simplicity  and  good  taste.  The  bed-rooms  ara 
without  carpets,  too,  at  least  in  the  summer. 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


Not  having  tried  my  friend's  beds,  I  may  claim  without  discour- 
tesy, a  traveller's  privilege,  in  saying  something  here  of  German 
beds.  The  whole  nation,  with  all  their  intellectual  progress,  have 
not  made  the  first  step  in  the  philosophy  of  beds.  And  to  one 
coming  from  England,  Germany  presents  a  most  deplorable  contiast. 
In  England,  the  bed  is  considered  almost  a  sacred  spot.  It  is 
carefully  and  nicely  made ;  it  is  curtained  off  from  the  world  ;  and 
there  are  very  few  inns  so  poor,  as  not  to  have  many  ornaments 
and  comforts  about  their  beds.  But  in  Germany,  it  does  not  seem 
to  be  considered  a  place  where  an  important  part  of  life  is  to  be 
spent.  It  is  only  a  narrow,  open  lounge — always  too  short  for  a 
long  man,  and  too  narrow  for  a  restless  one.  The  mattrass 
is  a  most  light,  flimsy  affair,  which  is  attempted  to  be  counter- 
balanced by  an  immense  hard  pillow,  reaching  half  way  down 
the  bed,  so  that  one  is  obliged  to  lie  at  a  half-sitting  posture. 
And  to  crown  all,  for  a  coverlid,  is  a  large,  light  feather-bed 
or  pillow,  which  makes  one  intolerably  warm  under  it,  and 
leaves  one  very  cold  without  it.  These  beds  have  been  the  subject 
of  malediction  with  travellers,  since  Coleridge's  feeling  remarks  on 
the  subject,  but  they  do  not  appear  to  have  changed  much,  except 
in  a  few  places  on  the  Rhine,  where  the  English  have  fairly  grumbled 
them  away. 

The  remainder  of  the  morning  my  friend  kindly  devoted  to 
showing  me  the  principal  sights  of  the  town  ;  and  in  the  afternoon, 
I  presented  my  other  letters.  One  was  to  Mr.  Lindley,  the  English 
engineer.  Mr.  L.  is  the  last  one  to  wish  his  name  brought  out  in 
this  conspicuous  way,  but  I  cannot  forbear  expressing  my  thanks  for 
his  many  attentions  to  me,  and  my  admiration  for  what  he  is 
accomplishing  in  Hamburg.  A  free-minded,  untiring,  hopeful 
man — one  who  believes  that  God's  world  is  not  quite  a  stagnant 


AN    ENGLISHMAN  25 

pool  of  wretchedness,  but  that  something  can  be  done  to  clear  it 
and  make  it  flow  on  again — and  who  is  doing  his  part  for  this  in  a 
very  thorough  way.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  him  frequently^ 
and  the  account  of  all  his  efforts  in  the  city,  his  attempts  to  stop  the 
progress  of  "  the  great  fire"  by  the  general  blowing  up  of  buildings  ; 
his  struggles  with  the  lower  classes,  who  at  first  believed  him  almost 
a  demoniac  man,  plotting  the  destruction  of  the  city  ;  his  gigantic, 
plans  for  rebuilding,  and  endeavors  to  inspire  the  Germans  with 
something  of  the  English  practical  spirit,  would  form  an  interesting 
history  in  itself. 

He  has  just  offered,  I  was  told  in  private,  $10,000  to  the  city 
corporation,  if  they  would  subscribe  the  rest,  for  building  several 
large  bath-houses  for  the  poor,  after  the  manner  of  the  London 
houses.  At  his  suggestion,  and  by  his  plan,  some  grand  water- 
works have  been  erected,  which  supply  the  whole  city  with  pure 
water,  and  the  pipes  from  which  can  be  used  for  the  engines  in 
every  block,  in  c/ise  of  another  fire.  He  has  constructed,  too,  an 
immense  building  and  machinery,  with  a  very  high  tower,  for  the 
gas-works — much  of  it  contrived  on  new  principles.  He  was 
superintending,  while  I  was  there,  some  new  extensire  docks,  laid 
out  by  himself.  One  of  the  best  quarters  of  the  city,  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Elbe,  has  been  gained  by  him,  from  the  marsh,  by 
thorough  drainage  and  by  pumping  out  the  water  with  a  steam- 
engine,  and  filling  in  the  space  with  the  rubbish  from  the  fire.  Mr. 
Lindley  has  been  the  rebuilder  of  Hamburg  ;  and  all  agree,  that  tc 
his  improvements  a  great  change  in  'he  health  of  the  poorest 
quarters,  is  due.  The  first  feelings,  as  I  said,  towards  him  during 
the  fire,  by  the  lower  classes,  were  of  intense  suspicion  and  hatred. 
Under  his  direction,  some  of  the  finest  buildings  in  the  city 
had  been  blown  into  the  air.  The  crowd  cried  out  that  "  tbd 
2 


SOCIAL  LIFE   IN  GERMANY. 


foreigner  was  trying  to  ruin  Hamburg,"  and  he  hardly  escaped  with 
his  life.  But  afterwards,  as  they  saw  the  fire  subsiding  through 
these  measures,  and  when  later,  they  beheld  his  unceasing  exertions 
to  rebuild  and  improve  the  city,  they  began  almost  to  idolize  him. 
And  now,  by  workmen  and  Burschen,  no  man  is  better  beloved 
than  Mr.  Lindley,  the  English  engineer. 

OCTOBER  13,  1860. 

1  went  out  to-day  in  company  with  one  of  my  friends,  to  visit 
a  wealthy  gentleman,  living  in  the  outskirts  of  Hamburg.  I 
preferred  to  walk,  and  was  well  repayed  by  the  opportunity 
it  gave  me  for  examining  the  pleasant  villas  which  surround 
the  city.  For  some  time,  I  wondered  to  myself  what  it  was 
that  gave  so  different  an  air  to  them  all,  from  that  of  our 
country-seats.  They  were  built  not  unlike  them,  of  wood  or 
stuccoed  brick,  in  rectangular  forms,  or  with  slightly  varied  outline 
The  grounds  in  general  did  not  seem  especially  "foreign"  in  their 
designs.  I  concluded  finally,  the  difference  was  in  the  universal 
tendency  to  make  the  most  of  the  open  air.  The  houses  were  all 
surrounded  with  pleasant  balconies,  opening  into  the  sitting-rooms  ; 
there  w..-re  porticoes,  leafy  boudoirs  connecting  with  the  inside ;  the 
gardens  were  full  of  arbors,  and  summer-houses  and  seats,  where 
people  were  eating  and  drinking,  as  if  it  were  as  habitual  there  as 
within  doors. 

We  found  the  family  we  would  visit  just  sitting  down  to  "  lunch," 
and  we  were  at  once  placed  at  the  table.  There  was  a  little 
company  accidentally  assembled  ;  and  the  lunch,  though  it  was 
only  eleven  o'clock,  presented  itself  as  a  rather  fg/midable  meal- 
steaks,  bread-cakes,  fish  and  claret,  with  a  close  of  some  beautiful 
grapes  and  pears  from  the  gentleman's  conservatoires,  and  decanters 


THE    TABLE.  27 


of  choice  pale  sherry.  There  was  little  form,  though  several 
servants  were  in  waiting.  The  great  topic  of  conversation  was  the 
war  then  going  on  in  Schleswig-Holstein,  against  Denmark.  All 
seemed  to  sympathise  most  deeply  with  the  insurgents.  I  was 
somewhat  surprised  to  notice,  too,  considerable  conversation  on 
religious  subjects.  My  German  is  rather  limited  yet,  and  a  very 
rapid  conversation,  where  there  is  a  confusion  of  voices,  I  find  it 
difficult  to  follow ;  but  I  was  struck  with  the  earnest,  practical  tono 
of  what  was  said.  The  subject  seemed  generally  connected  with 
something  they  called  the  "  Inner  Mission?  which  I  did  not  at 
the  time  understand.  My  neighbors  at  the  table  were  very  polite, 
and  very  much  was  asked  about  America,  where  many  of  them 
seemed  to  have  friends. 

Our  time,  the  remainder  of  the  day  till  dinner,  at  five  o'clock — 
for  they  would  not  hear  of  our  returning  till  after  we  had  dined 
with  them — was  spent  in  examining  the  very  handsome  estate  of 
the  gentleman,  and  in  talking  with  the  various  friends  who  chanced 
to  come  in.  As  a  considerable  company  of  the  neighbors  had 
assembled,  in  part  through  invitation  of  the  host,  to  compliment  us, 
the  dinner  proved  quite  a  formal  affair.  The  ladies  in  full  dress; 
a  splendid  dining-hall  with  flowers  and  lights  ;  and  a  line  of  respect- 
able-looking servants.  I  was  curious  to  see  what  the  arrangement 
of  courses  would  be.  Soup,  as  everywhere,  the  first — then  a  rihine 
wine  poured  out  to  each  one  who  would  take  it ;  the  second  course, 
boiled  beef;  next,  fish  with  a  red  wine;  then  pigeons  and  Saxony 
larks,  a  little  delicacy  much  valued  here  ;  pudding ;  and  champagne 
served ;  and  last  of  the  solid  courses,  roast  venison.  The  dessert 
was  black  bread  and  cheese,  with  port  wine. 

The  especial  enjoyment  of  the  meal  was  evidently  in  the 
conversation,  and  there  was  little  hard  drinking.  The  ladies  did 


SOCIAL   LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


not  drink  wine  at  all.  The  principal  person  at  table,  and  one  to 
whom  all  listened  with  marked  attention,  was  a  strong-featured, 
earnest-looking  man,  who,  though  he  made  a  keen  joke  occasion- 
ally, was  talking  mostly  of  very  serious  matters.  His  voice  was 
deep  and  fervid,  and  as  he  spoke  some  times  of  the  social  evils  in 
Germany;  of  the  wrongs  of  the  poor;  of  the  little  hold  which 
religion  has  upon  them  ;  and  of  the  utter  want  through  the  nation 
of  any  practical  piety,  I  could  see  from  the  deep  stillness  of  the 
company,  that  they  felt  they  were  listening  to  great  truths,  uttered 
by  an  earnest  man.  He  spoke  of  the  "  Inner  Mission"  again,  as 
a  means  of  reform. 

I  could  not  restrain  my  curiosity  longer,  and  asked  in  a  whisper 
of  my  next  neighbor  what  this  "  Inner  Mission"  was,  of  which 
they  were  speaking  so  much.  He  answered  with  the  enthusiasm 
which  they  all  seemed  to  feel  in  regard  to  it,  vstill  his  explanation 
had  something  of  the  German  vagueness,  and  I  only  gathered  that 
it  was  a  grand  Religious  Institution,  and  that  he  himself  was 
strongly  "  Evangelical"  in  his  views.  The  gentleman  who  was 
speaking,  he  said,  was  a  man  well  known  through  Germany — HERR 
WICHERN.  From  this,  we  fell  into  something  of  a  conversation  on 
these  matters. 

He  asked  me  whether  I  did  not  notice  a  very  great  contrast  here 
in  tL~  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  to  my  own  country.  I  had,  I 
replied,  and  I  had  been  wondering  whether  the  people  really  held 
it  as  a  religious  day,  only  in  a  different  outward  mode  from  ours  ; 
cr  whether  it  was  merely  a  day  of  amusement. 

"There  is  not  the  least  trace  of  religion  in  it,"  said  he,  "with 
the  most  of  them.  In  the  Protestant  Church,  which  I  attend,  there 
are  20,000  members,  and  not  1200  of  them  ever  come  to  the 


INNER    MIS3IOX.  29 


Church.     The  lower  classes  drink  beer  and  roll  nine  pins  (KegeT)  on 
that  day,  and  the  higher  saunter  about  and  go  to  dinner  parties." 

"  I  could  hardly  credit  it,"  I  said.  "  This  was  but  a  small  part," 
he  replied,  "  of  what  I  would  see,  as  I  travelled  more  in  Germany." 
I  asked  him,  farther,  whether  he  did  not  find  a  great  want  of  sym- 
pathy in  his  peculiar  views.  "  Yes,  certainly,  but,  thank  God  !  the 
darkest  days  for  Germany  in  practical  irreligion,  are  past !" 

Our  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  company  rising, 
and  each  gentleman  taking  his  lady  again  to  the  drawing-room. 
Here  each  bowed  to  the  other,  and  said  a  few  words,  as  if  in  salu- 
tation, all  which  of  course  I  followed,  with  the  exception  of  the 
"  good  wishes  for  the  meal,"  which  I  did  not  well  understand.  A 
traveller's  ignorance  in  these  matters  is  always  very  charitably 
treated. 

In  regard  to  the  Inner  Mission,  it  may  be  well  now  to  state, 
what  I  afterwards  learned,  especially  as  it  is  a  movement  which  is 
even  yet  deeply  influencing  the  religious  condition  of  Germany. 
The  name,  Innere  Mission,  I  will  not  attempt  to  translate,  fcr  it 
seems  hardly  to  correspond  to  anything  we  have.  It  is  not  a  Soci- 
ety, though  the  word  sounds  like  it,  nor  a  Brotherhood ;  but  appa- 
rently it  is  an  immense  popular  movement  to  meet  the  influence 
of  Rationalism  in  Germany.  The  object  is  to  call  back  the  people 
from  the  abstract,  mystical,  skeptical  tendencies  which  have  distin- 
guished them  so  long,  and  bring  them  to  the  practical  good  worhs 
of  religion.  They  mean,  as  many  of  those  engaged  in  the  move- 
merit  will  tell  you,  to  "  Englicise  Germany  "  They  have  found 
that  religion  has  lost  its  practical  hold  of  the  people ;  that  the 
churches  are  poorly  attended ;  that  spirituality  has  little  connection 
with  education  ;  and  that  works  of  charity  are  shamefully  neglected 
They  design  to  change  this.  To  go  around  and  influence  individu- 


SOCIAL  LH-E  IN  GERMANY. 


ally  the  lower  classes;  to  introduce  religious  education  in  the 
schools  ;  to  bring  together  more  to  the  churches,  and  to  reestablish 
family-worship  in  the  houses ;  to  form  ragged  schools  and  asylums, 
and  places  of  reform  for  prostitutes ;  to  establish  temperance  (not 
abstinence)  societies  in  some  communities  ;  and  to  found  sailors' 
homes  in  the  seabord  towns.  The  plan  seems  too  great,  and  to  em- 
brace too  wide  a  variety  of  objects,  to  be  the  plan  of  one  move- 
ment. Yet  so  it  is.  And  many  who  are  joining  in  it  look  even 
higher  than  to  these  ends.  They  hope  to  change  the  relations  of 
governments  to  one  another,  and  gradually  to  make  the  State  only 
one  branch  of  this  immense  institution,  the  Church.  The  plan 
itself,  perhaps,  has  something  of  what  they  are  objecting  to — the 
German  Idealism.  Yet  I  am  bound  to  say,  that  thus  far  the  results 
have  been  very  practical.  Institutions  almost  unknown  before  in 
Germany  have  arisen  under  its  influence,  for  the  poor  and  the  un- 
fortunate. Orphan  asylums,  vagrant  schools,  and  "  homes"  for 
abandoned  women  have  been  erected  by  these  faithful  followers  of 
the  Inner  Mission.  Under  its  working,  the  attendance  on  churches 
and  prayer-meetings,  has  widely  improved.  And  it  I  can  judge  at 
all  from  the  accounts  of  those  interested  in  it,  families  have  already 
felt  the  effects  of  it  in  a  more  hearty  attempt  to  worship  together, 
and  in  greater  efforts  for  a  useful  religious  life. 

The  King  of  Prussia — a  man  apparently  very  quick  to  feel  any 
noble  idea,  and  very  uncertain  sometimes  in  his  action,  and  fitted  to 
be  anything  better  than  a  good  King — has  taken  deep  interest  in 
many  of  these  movements  for  forming  charitable  institutions,  and  has 
given  very  substantial  aid. 

The  meetings  of  the  "  Missions"  are  held  in  various  parts  of  Ger- 
many, and  are  some  periodical,  and  others  chance  gatherings.  Those 
connected  with  this  enterprise  are  called  the  "  Friends  of  the  Inner 


HERR    WICHERN.  31 


Mission,"  and  can  belong  to  any  sect  of  Christendom  ;  even  promi- 
nent Roman  Catholics  have  sometimes  taken  part  in  it.  At  the 
head  of  it  all,  holding  the  various  strings  which  connect  with  its 
wide  operations,  the  life  and  centre  of  the  movement,  is  a  man  who 
in  another  age,  and  in  other  circumstances,  would  have  been  the 
Loyola  of  a  religious  society — HERR  WICHERN.  A  man  of  indom- 
itable energy,  of  high  and  enthusiastic  nature,  yet  uniting  with  it  in 
a  combination  not  often  seen  in  human  nature,  except  in  such  char- 
acters as  Ignatius  Loyola,  the  shrewdness  of  a  man  of  the  world, 
and  a  thorough  practical  talent.  By  his  efforts  many  of  these  char- 
itable institutions  have  been  formed  through  various  parts  of  Ger- 
many, and  he  is  now  himself  at  the  head  of  an  immense  charity  or 
vagrant-school  in  Hamburg,  of  which  I  shall  have  more  to  say 
hereafter,  conducted  as  it  is  on  principles  quite  new  in  the  manage- 
ment of  such  institutions.  He  is  summoned  constantly  to  different 
parts  of  the  country  on  the  work  of  this  "  Mission,"  and  report  says, 
has  no  little  influence  with  the  crowned  heads  of  Germany.  On 
the  whole,  the  movement  appears  to  be  a  grand  one,  and  is  certainly 
a  tremendous  protest  against  Rationalism  ;  or,  at  least  against  the 
present  religious  condition  of  Germany,  under  the  influence  of  Ra- 
tionalism. "  It  is  a  second  Reformation,"  some  of  those  engaged  in 
it  will  tell  you,  except  that  "  it  begins  in  the  Church,  and  has  the 
support  of  the  Church."  One  might  fear  it  would  become  in  pro- 
cess of  time,  an  immense  religious  society,  controlling  the  populace 
everywhere,  and  liable  to  be  used  by  ambitious  men  for  bad  pur- 
poses. But  the  day  seems  to  have  gone  by  for  that,  and  we  may 
hope  for  better  things. 


CHAPTER  ill. 

SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    HAMBURG. 

HAMBURG  is  one  of  the  wealthiest  cities  iu  Germany,  in  constant 
connection  with  England,  and  where  English  habits  of  luxury  have 
penetrated.  It  is  famous  in  the  German  States  for  the  good  din- 
ners and  the  riches  of  its  citizens.  Yet  there  is  throughout  the 
middle  classes — with  a  few  inconsistencies — a  simplicity  and  frugality^ 
of  which  we  know  little  iu  America.  Money  is  made  with  moro 
difficulty  than  with  us,  and  is  naturally  not  spent  so  freely.  People 
talk  of  economy,  as  if  it  were  a  thing  really  to  be  considered.  I 
find  that  merchants,  iu  good  business,  not  unfrequently  retire  on  a 
fortune  of  $20,000  or  $30,000.  The  gentlemen,  too,  travel  in 
cheap  conveyances,  such  as  we  Americans  would  never  endure.  I 
have  scarcely  seen  carpets  on  the  floors  of  a  single  house,  except 
among  a  few  of  the  wealthiest ;  and  the  furniture,  in  general, 
though  tasteful,  is  not  at  all  expensive.  People  are  contented  with 
mall  means,  and  yet  they  make  those  means  go  a  great  way,  in 
comfort  and  beauty. 

I  have  said,  there  were  some  inconsistencies  in  this  home-life  of 
.  the  Germans.  With  a  most  grateful  and  comfortable  sense  of  all 
the  hospitality  I  have  received  from  them,  I  must  be  permitted  to 


HABITS.  33 


say,  that  in  eating,  and  in   a  few  of  their   habits,  they  are  hardly 
consistent  with  their  simple  and  ideal  tendencies  elsewhere. 

The  hours  for  rising  in  the  city  are  much  earlier,  as  I  before 
remarked,  than  in  England  ;  usually  in  the  middle  classes  half-past 
six  or  seven.  The  breakfast  is  always  merely  a  cup  of  coffee.and 
bread-cakes.  After  this  slight  meal,  the  gentlemen  go  to  their  busi- 
ness and  the  ladies  to  their  household  work  ;  and  I  have  been  sur- 
prised to  observe  in  the  various  families  of  my  acquaintance  how 
much  the  ladies  do  of  housekeeping  work,  and  even  cooking. 
At  eleven  or  twelve,  those  of  the  family  who  are  at  home,  meet 
again  for  "  lunch."  This  is  a  moderately  substantial  meal  of  cold 
meat,  bread  and  butter,  preserves  and  fruit,  with  some  light  wine 
like  Burgundy  or  Claret.  Then  at  three  o'clock  comes'the  dinner, 
the  meal  of  the  day  of  course.  With  many  of  the  business  men, 
the  same  custom  prevails  as  in  our  large  cities  and  in  England,  of 
having  the  dinner  at  five  or  six  o'clock,  after  the  business  of  the  day. 
But  three  or  four  o'clock  is  the  more  general  hour.  The  meal  com- 
mences according  to  the  world-wide  custom,  with  soup ;  then  suc- 
ceed roast  meat  and  vegetables,  and  then  perhaps  fish  and  various 
courses  to  the  number,  often,  of  five  or  six,  each  course  however  be- 
ing only  a  small  dish — and  the  remarkable  thing  about  it  all,  being 
that  the  fruits  come  in,  in  the  middle  of  the  courses,  and  the  roast 
meats  just  before  the  end.  The  dessert,  according  to  an  English 
custom,  and  one  which  does  not  prevail  much  in  our  country,  is 
bread  with  butter,  or  cheese.  The  wines  do  not  seem  to  be  as 
varied,  as  in  family  dinners  in  England,  being  generally  the  light 
red  wine,  either  of  France  or  the  Rhine,  together  with  TeneritFe. 
The  last  dish  is  always  a  cup  of  strong  black  coffee.  Of  course, 
this  arrangement  of  dinner  differs  somewhat  in  different  families,  and 
perhaps  the  order  of  courses  is  not  strictly  fixed ;  yet  such  a  dinner 
2* 


SOCIAL  LIFE   IN  GERMANY. 


would  not  be  at  all  uncommon,  and  might  be  considered  a  fair  sam- 
ple of  a  good  family  dinner. 

I  have  spoken  of  wine  drinking— and  it  may  not  be  out  of  place 
to  mention  my  observations  with  respect  to  it  here  in  Hamburg. 
Wines  are  cheap  here,  owing  to  the  absence  of  all  duties  and  the 
aeighborhood  of  wine  countries.  Rhine  wines  are  from  lOd.  to  Is. 
per  bottle ;  common  Burgundy  from  8d.  to  lOd. ;  Bordeaux  from 
4d.  to  8d. ;  and  Champagne  from  2s.  to  4s.  The  people  drink  the 
lighter  wines  universally,  yet  the  number  of  cases  of  intoxication  is 
surprisingly  small,  and  I  never  see  men  unduly  excited  by  liquor  at 
table,  as  I  frequently  have  seen  in  Scotland,  where  the  strong  wines 
and  whiskey  are  so  much  in  use.  The  appearance  of  Hamburg,  too, 
at  night,  is  a  wonderful  contrast  to  that  of  Glasgow  and  Edinburg, 
where  I  have  lately  been,  and  the  hideous  rioting  and  drunkenness 
which  disturb  one  in  those  cities,  are  seldom  known  here.  These 
are  facts  which  I  cannot  connect  with  any  particular  theory,  but 
which  are  worth  considering,  as  showing  that  there  are  countries 
where  drinking  is  common,  and  yet  where  much  truer  ideas  of  tem- 
perance prevail,  either  than  in  rigid  Scotland  or  in  our  own  country. 
Whether  the  Scotch  strictness  in  other  matters  drives  men  to  ex- 
tremes in  this  ;  or,  what  may  be  the  reason,  I  cannot  say.  To  one 
who  would  wish  to  look  at  all  sides  of  the  question  of  temperance, 
these  facts  will  be  worthy  of  attention. 

The  afternoon,  among  the  Hamburgers,  is  devoted  to  exercise, 
walking  and  riding,  and  amusement — and  the  lady,  who  has  been 
perhaps  working  in  the  kitchen,  now  escapes  to  pleasanter  occupa- 
tions. In  some  families  we  used  to  meet  again  at  six,  for  tea, 
handed  around  without  eatables— a  custom  probably  derived  from 
the  English.  The  evening  follows,  and  is  spent  either  over  whist  or 
in  pleasant  conversation,  or  at  concerts— and  again  at  nine  or  ten 


DIET.  3& 

o'clock,  is  another  hearty  cold  supper,  with  meats  and  fruit  and  wine 
finished  on  the  gentlemen's  part  by  cigars,  which  are  smoked  here 
apparently  as  freely  in  the  parlor  or  dining  room  as  any  where  else. 

Such  an  overflowing  hospitality  of  good  things,  all  day,  is  very 
pleasant,  but  how  the  Germans  ever  succeed  in  bearing  up  under  it, 
is  a  matter  of  some  surprise  to  the  stranger.  In  fact,  the  nation 
seem  generally  most  daring  transgressors  of  all  the  rules  of  dietetics, 
and  yet  one  cannot  see,  but  that  they  are  as  healthy  and  work  as 
hard  as  most  other  nations. 

I  have  been  very  much  amused  in  conversation  with  various  peo- 
ple, at  the  popular  impressions  about  America.  They  are  all  excel- 
lently well  informed  on  the  subject  of  our  government  and 
the  character  of  the  people ;  but  their  ideas  of  small  matters  are 
frequently  taken  altogether  from  the  jokes  circulating  about  us. 
Punch's  "  hits"  and  caricatures,  #nd  even  the  mere  good-humored 
extravagancies  of  the  "  New  York  Herald,"  such  as  the  loss  of  life 
attending  on  the  rush  for  an  "  Extra  Herald,"  are  all  believed  with 
astonishing  readiness.  "  Did  our  gentlemen  sit  at  the  opera,  with 
their  feet  over  the  backs  of  the  boxes  ?"  some  one  inquired  of  me.  I 
find  it  one  of  the  hardest  things  to  convince  them  that  there  is  a 
difference  between  the  North  and  the  South ;  and  that  gentlemen 
do  not  carry  bowie-knives  about  with  them  as  they  would  tooth- 
picks, in  the  old  States. 

There  is  one  subject  I  have  found  it  best  not  to  touch  upon  too 
much  with  many  of  the  Hamburgers.  It  is  the  remarkable  num- 
ber of  Prussian  uniforms  one  sees  every  where  in  the  city.  I  can 
scarcely  go  by  a  public  building,  without  meeting  the  plain  spiked 
helmet  and  blue  coat ;  and  not  a  day  passes  when  I  do  not  come 
upon  companies  of  Prussian  soldiers,  drilling  in  the  squares.  When 
the  Prussian  troops  returned  from  Holstein  through  Hamburg,  a 


36  SOCIAL   LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 

year  or  more  ago,  they  were  thought  by  the  worthy  democrats  of 
that  city,  to  have  given  up  quite  too  easily  the  support  of  Liberal- 
ism, and  in  consequence  were  hooted  at,  and  pelted  by  them.  The 
City  Senate  and  Burgher  Guard  could  do  nothing  against  them, 
and  it  is  generally  supposed  these  foreign  troops  were  privately 
invited  in,  for  the  sake  of  keeping  down  the  ultra-republicans.  At 
any  rate— much  as  the  citizens  dislike  the  term— Hamburg,  like  the 
free  city  of  Frankfort  and  independent  Duchy  of  Baden,  is  under 
the  protection  of  Prussia,  and  Prussian  bayonets  uphold  the  repre- 
sentative government ! 

OcTOBBB  20. 

I  was  to-day  at  a  dinner  party,1  and  in  the  evening  after 
it,  a  very  characteristic  conversation  took  place.  We  were 
gathered  around  a  table,  looking  at  some  spirited  illustrations  of  tho 
Bible.  A  young  man  with  finely  cut  features  and  full  moustache, 
whom  from,  his  whole  appearance,  I  took  to  be  an  artist,  seemed 
rauch  interested  in  them.  His  remarks  upon  them  were  very  ap- 
propriate, and  showed  the  deepest  feeling  for  the  beauty  of  outline, 
as  well  as  the  thought  expressed.  At  length  he  dropped  some 
depreciatory  expression  in  regard  to  the  facts  thus  illustrated.  His 
words  were  at  once  taken  up  by  a  benevolent-looking  old  gentle- 
man— a  clergyman — who  stood  near,  and  then  ensued  a  well-sus- 
tained discussion,  the  young  man  maintaining  the  mythical  theory 
'  of  the  Bible,  and  the  "  Pastor"  arguing  the  literal.  The  artist's 
points  were  well  put,  but  on  the  whole,  fairly  met  by  the  other. 
Yet  it  struck  me  that  the  younger  disputant  was  far  the  most  in 
earnest,  and  there  was  a  half-sorrowful  expression  occasionally  in  his 
eye,  which  showed  he  had  some  other  object  than  mere  talk,  in  the 
discussion.  The  Pastor  argued  as  if  it  was  his  business,  and  the 


DISCUSSION.  37 

young  man  as  if  he  sought  with  whole  soul  for  Truth.  The  conversa- 
tion soon  passed,  in  some  way,  to  these  struggles  in  Europe  for  liberty. 
Here  the  religious  man  had  changed  his  ground.  Hopeful  before, 
when  he  met  the  sombre  doubts  of  Immortality,  he  was  now  faith 
ess,  gloomy,  timid. 

''  Europe  is  not  ready  for  freedom,  and  does  not  at  heart  want  it," 
said  he.  "  The  people  are  wild  with  Socialism  and  Infidelity. 
They  want  license,  indulgence.  They  have  tried  and  failed  enough 
in  their  efforts  for  Liberty.  Have  we  not  now  a  steady,  Christian 
Government  in  North-Germany  ?  A  King  on  the  throne  of  Prussia, 
known  as  an  humble,  faithful  Christian  ?  Why  should  we  tempt 
Providence,  by  aiming  at  what  God  shows  himself  unwilling  to  give  ?" 

"Mein  Gott !"  said  the  artist,  almost  with  a  burst  of  passion. 
"  And  is  this  Religion — to  lie  down  as  slaves  always  ?  The  people 
are  infidels,  Herr  Pastor,  because  the  Church  and  Tyranny  are 
bound  together.  Not  a  word  of  free  noble  sentiment  against  the 
oppressions  of  Germany  ever  comes  from  your  pulpits  !  Look  at 
Prussia,  and  see  that  accursed  unconstitutional  rule  upheld  by  the 
priests  of  God  !  Yes,  we  have  failed.  We  gained  the  victory  and 
then  trusted  the  princes — but  so  has  every  noble  cause  failed.  We 
shall  not  trust  so  much  again  !  The  King  of  Prussia" — and  by 
this  time  he  had  gained  the  attention  of  the  who!<?  room — "  is  per- 
jured before  God  and  men !  He  has  publicly  broken  the  oath  he 
gave  only  two  years  ago.  And  what  is  going  on  now  over  poor 
Holstein,  but  another  act  of  this  same  oppression  I"  His  appeal  to 
Holstein  evidently  aroused  the  sympathies  o£  the  whole  company  t 
and  the  preacher  was  almost  silenced,  though  he  could  not  restrain 
some  allusions  of  contempt  to  the  struggles  in  Hungary  and  South- 
Germany.  I  took  up  the  cudgels  here,  and  an  animated  debate 
followed,  and  desultory  conversation,  until  at  length  we  came  to 


33  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


the  subject  of  the  German  laws  enforcing  Confirmation,  and  the  con- 
nection of  Church  and  State. 

"  In  our  country,"  said  I,  "  we  find  religion  far  better  sustained 
by  leaving  it  entirely  to  individual,  voluntary  support." 

"  It  might  be  so  with  you,"  he  replied,  "  but  the  system  would 
not  work  here.  By  the  laws  of  confirmation,  every  child  must  go 
through  with  a  certain  course  of  religious  instruction  under  the  Pas- 
tor. In  this  way,  thousands  of  children  are  instructed,  who  would 
never  otherwise  come  near  a  clergyman.  I  myself  spend  some  two 
hours  almost  every  day  in  the  week,  in  such  labor  with  the  children 
of  my  parish.  Besides,  the  certificates  of  baptism  and  confirmation 
are  absolutely  necessary  for  the  numbering  the  population  and  prov- 
ing their  legitimacy." 

<;  But,"  said  I,  "  do  you  not  find,  where  a  religious  confession  is 
enjoined  by  law,  that  Religion  becomes  a  matter  of  form,  not  of  the 
heart  ?  And  does  not  the  church  pass  into  a  mere  instrument  for 
upholding  established  authority?  I  should  expect  to  find  many, 
like  this  gentleman,  considering  orthodoxy  and  tyranny  as  very 
much  bound  together." 

He  was  obliged  to  admit  that  these  evils  often  did  result,  though 
counterbalanced,  he  thought,  by  the  advantages. 

I  fell  into  a  very  interesting  conversation,  afterwards,  with  the 
artist,  and  I  think  he  was  surprised  to  meet  any  one  with  a  distinct 
religious  faith,  yet  sympathising  in  the  great  struggles  of  the  day. 

"Thank  God!"  I  said  to  myself  as  I  walked  home,  "it  has  not 
come  to  this  yet  in  our  country,  that  Religion  and  a  dead  Conserva- 
tism are  the  same  thing.  Young  America  is  Religious  America 
until  now  1" 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A     GEKMAN      LADY. 

I  HEARD  much  during  this  visit  in  Hamburg,  of  a  remarkable 
lady,  long  resident  in  the  city,  and  gratefully  known  through  all 
Germany.  As  my  friends  described  her,  she  seemed  the  Mrs.  Fry 
of  Germany — a  woman  who  had  visited  the  lowest  prisons  of  the 
city  for  objects  of  charity,  and  to  gather  facts  relative  to  prison- 
improvement  ;  who  had  erected  institutions  for  the  abandoned  and 
outcast  of  her  own  sex,  and  had  thoroughly  familiarized  herself  with 
the  late  establishments  for  reform  in  all  the  countries  of  Europe.  They 
also  represented  that  she  was  a  woman  of  high  cultivation  and 
intelligence — a  personal  friend  of  the  Queen  of  Denmark,  and  a^ 
correspondent  of  the  first  men  in  Germany,  in  talent  and  benevolence 
Her  plans,  too,  were  far  more  wide-reaching  than  for  any  temporary 
reforms.  She  aspired  to  raise  the  position  of  woman  in  social  life 
throughout  Germany,  and  to  spread  her  own  ideas,  in  the  most  effi- 
cient way,  by  education.  With  this  purpose  she  had  formed  a 
school,  they  said,  where  fourteen  or  twenty  scholars  from  the  most 
influential  families  were  instructed  by  herself  gratuitously.  It  was 
one  of  the  best  schools  in  Germany,  as  Miss  SIEVEKINO — for  that  ia 
her  name — is  very  accomplished  in  modern  languages  and  in  all  the 
higher  branches  of  instruction. 


SOCIAL    LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


Her  plan  was, 'to  implant  indirectly,  during  her  intercourse,  her 
own  fervent  religious  convictions,  and  her  ideas  of  woman's  duties, 
in  these  pupils'  minds.  The  first  ladies  in  Hamburg  were  glad  to 
commit  their  daughters  to  her  ;  and  the  result  was,  that  she  had 
sent  abroad,  through  Germany,  accomplished  women  filled  with  the 
same  purposes  of  practical  usefulness. 

I  may  say  here,  interrupting  my  narrative,  that  I  afterwards 
met  in  various  parts  of  Germany  these  ladies,  and  have  found 
them  every  where  leading  the  movements  now  in  progress  in 
Germany  for  spreading  a  purer  and  more  practical  piety.  One  I 
remember — a  lady  of  rank — as  the  overseer  of  the  "  Hospital  for 
women"  in  Berlin  ;  another,  the  earnest  and  actively  religious  lady 
of  the  court-chaplain  in  the  same  city — Madame  Snetlage — and 
others  equally  devoted  with  these,  to  works  of  reform. 

Besides  these  labors,  Miss  Sieveking  had  organized  a  society  of  the 
ladies  of  Hamburg,  whose  objects  should  be  thoroughly  to  investi- 
gate the  condition  of  the  poor  through  the  whole  city.  The  city 
was  divided  into  small  districts :  each  lady  took  one,  went  over  it 
every  few  days,  made  note  of  those  needing  relief  or  work,  or  talked 
with  those  in  sorrow,  and  carefully  inquired  as  to  those  who  had 
had  no  religious  instruction.  The  reports  thus  made  are  read  at 
each  general  meeting  and  measures  there  adopted  for  relief,  unless 
the  need  is  too  pressing  to  allow  of  delay — the  great  principle  be- 
ing to  give  the  people  work,  not  alms. 

I  asked,  in  the  course  of  our  conversations,  how  this  lady  man 
aged  to  get  money  to  support  herself  in  so  many  gratuitous  labors. 
They  said,  that  originally  she  had  owned  some  property,  which  she 
had  now  entirely  spent  for  these  objects,  but  that  she  lived  in  so 
simple  a  way  that  it  was  easy  for  her  to  get  along  on  very  little 
indeed ;  and  now,  when  any  rich  Hamburger  died,  even  if  he  had 


MISS    SIEVEKING  41 


never  given  a  penny  in  bis  life,  he  was  sure  to  leave  something  to 
Miss  S.,  as  a  kind  of  salve  for  his  conscience. 

I  felt  very  desirous  of  knowing  her — it  is  so  seldom  that  a  woman 
has  the  courage  or  ability  to  stand  out  from  her  sex,  in  a  life  worthy 
of  a  being  of  high  powers ;  and  of  all  countries  in  the  world  where 
it  would  be  hard  for  a  woman  to  act  against  the  usages  of  society, 
for  some  great  intellectual  or  benevolent  purpose,  Germany  is  the 
worst.  The  cry  of  "  emancipirt  !  "  (emancipated !)  is  worse  than 
ever  blue-stocking  was  with  us,  and  is  a  sentence  of  death  to. any 
lady's  success  for  evermore  in  society.  All  accounts,  too,  so  agreed, 
that  with  this  lady,  rough  work  on  the  realities  of  life  had  not  worn 
away  refinement,  or  modesty,  or  good  sense,  that  I  anticipated  much 
in  meeting  her. 

I  shall  remember  long  my  first  interview  with  her,  from  a  side- 
circumstance  that  occurred — one  of  those  little  blunders  which  a 
stranger  may  always  make  in  first  speaking  a  foreign  language,  and 
to  which  he  must  harden  himself,  if  he  would  ever  progress  at  all. 
In  the  course  of  our  conversation,  I  inquired  in  regard  to  an  "Ap- 
peal" she  had  been  lately  making — of  which  more  presently — to 
the  ladies  of  Germany  ;  but  by  a  slight  change  of  one  consonant,  I 
had  politely  asked  after  the  "  uproar,"  she  had  been  making  among 
the  ladies  of  Germany.  She  was  too  sensible  to  notice  it,  and  the 
rest  of  the  company  preserved  a  courteous  silence ;  the  only  effect 
being  that  the  conversation  soon  turned  into  English,  which  I  found 
she  spoke  very  well. 

I  had  expected  in  such  a  position  to  meet  a  very  enthusiastic, 
ideal  person,  but  was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  her  a  sensible,  prac- 
tical woman,  not  particularly  "  exalted"  wiih  these  ideas,  but  evi- 
dently carrying  them  out  under  a  deep  sense  of  Christian  duty.  An 
odd  figure  she  was,  too,  at  the  elegant  table  where  we  were,  with 


42  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 

her  simple,  quaint  dress,  her  little  active  form,  and  her  keen  blue 
eyes,  moving  so  quickly  when  she  spoke.  She  did  not  appropriate 
the  conversation,  though  all  listened  with  great  respect  when  she 
spoke.  I  had  much  talk  with  her. 

She  told  me  of  the  difficulties  she  had  had  in  starting  benevolent 
institutions  in  Germany — how  unused  the  people  were  to  give,  in 
their  lives,  for  such  objects ;  how  little  of  the  evangelical  spirit,  with 
which  she  had  been  so  delighted  in  England,  was  to  be  found  here. 
The  ladies,  too,  at  first  could  not  be  induced  to  come  forward  in 
practical  efforts.  No  one  was  "  good  "  here  till  she  began  to  be 
passe,  and  the  young  ladies  feared  to  rise  above  this  public  opinion. 
The  name  of  "emanciprit"  was  worse  than  martyrdom.  Some  of 
the  parents,  too,  objected  in  the  beginning  to  their  daughters  enter- 
ing her  Asssociation  for  the  Poor,  because  it  might  have  a  bad  influ- 
ence on  their  moral  purity  to  see  the  worst  classes.  She  thought  it 
a  good  thing,  on  the  contrary,  for  a  young  woman  to  see  something 
of  the  dark  sides  of  life.  Besides,  any  modest  ignorance  of  such  sub- 
jects, she  said,  was  altogether  out  of  place  on  the  part  of  the  ladies, 
as  every  one  knew  they  were  entirely  familiar  in  one  way  or  another 
with  them.  She  had  found  it  very  difficult,  too,  with  the  higher 
classes,  to  break  down  the  unreasonable  customs  about  fashionable 
work.  Every  lady  of  rank  has  come  to  think  it  an  unchangeable 
duty  to  embroider,  or  do  ornamental  sewing,  a  certain  number  of 
hours  each  day.  The  best  part  of  her  time— hours  which  might  be 
given  to  educating  her  mind  or  laboring  for  others,  is  spent  in  this 
useless  way.  "  And  worse  than  useless,"  said  she,  "  for  it  is  not  eco- 
nomical, as  the  thimbles  and  needles  and  nicknacks  for  all  this  cost 
more  than  the  profits,  and  work  is  taken  away  from  poor  women 
who  need  it"  She  remembered,  she  said,  to  have  read  very  early 
in  life  a  treatise  on  woman's  duties,  in  which  it  was  declared  to  be 


A   CHRISTIAN    WOMAN.  43 


the  "  first  duty  of  woman  to  sew  and  embroider."  She  could  not 
see  then,  and  had  not  been  able  since  to  discover,  why  it  was  the 
universal  duty  of  every  woman  to  sew,  any  more  than  for  every  man 
to  cobble  or  to  dig.  She  thought  there  was  quite  as  much  variety  in 
women's  capacities  as  in  men's.  She  had  at  last  been  able  to 
induce  many  ladies  from  the  higher  class  to  leave  this  baby-house 
occupation,  and  engage  in  real,  benevolent  work  for  the  suffering ; 
and  it  seemed  to  her  now  that  there  was  more  of  practical,  evangel- 
ical piety  among  the  wealthier  classes  than  any  other. 

I  made  in  the  conversation  some  remark  about  the  institutions 
of  reform  in  London,  but  found  at  once  that  she  was  far  more 
thoroughly  informed  than  myself  about  them,  though  I  had  visited 
them  carefully.  The  "  Schools  for  vagrant  children"  and  the 
*'  Homes  for  reformed  women"  she  had  thoroughly  examined,  under 
the  guidance  of  the  most  prominent  nobleman  of  England,  and  she 
had  already  aided  to  found  such  institutions  here.  Still,  she  had 
not  much  hope  for  the  reformation  of  these  women,  she  said,  unless 
families  would  consent  to  take  them  in  and  give  them  work.  Merely 
living  in  a  "  home,"  hearing  preaching,  and  having  repentant 
thoughts,  was  not  enough.  They  must  have  something  in  place 
of  the  intense  excitement  of  their  life — some  steady,  honorable  labor. 

I  drew  the  conversation  to  her  efforts,  a  few  years  ago,  in  the 
fearful  year  of  the  cholera.  She  described  to  mo  a  few  scenes,  but 
she  did  not  say — what  the  citizens  of  Hamburg  will  never  forget — 
how  heroic  and  untiring  her  labors  were  in  that  dreadful  time  of 
pestilence.  She  did  not  say,  that  when  clergyman  and  friend  and 
father  had  fled  in  terror  from  the  dying-bed,  she  could  be  seen,  hour 
after  hour,  entering  the  deserted  houses,  bringing  medicine  and  aid 
and  her  kind  words  of  Christian  consolation  to  the  sufferers ;  that 
when  the  magistrates  of  the  city  had  almost  abandoned  the  hospi- 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


tals,  she  was  there  to  regulate  again,  to  encourage,  to  give  her 
judicious  counsel,  and  to  collect  food  and  medicine 

There  is  many  a  family  in  Hamburg,  both  of  rich  and  poor,  who 
will  forget  every  friend  and  benefactor  before  they  cease  to  remem- 
ber that  little,  active,  quaintly-dressed  woman,  with  the  keen,  kind 
eye,  who  came  so  like  an  angel  among  them,  in  those  terrible  days 
of  disease  and  death. 

I  had  been  very  much  interested  in  this  conversation.  Tho 
woman's  benevolence  was  so  evidently  rational,  and  there  was  such 
a  common-sense  and  almost  sharpness  of  tone  to  her  ideas,  that 
you  saw  at  once  she  was  no  mere  enthusiast.  As  soon  as  possible 
afterwards,  I  obtained  her  "  Appeal  to  the  Women  of  Germany," 
and  read  it  with  great  interest. 

I  will  give  some  extracts  from  it,  as  the  pamphlet  has  had  consid- 
erable influence  in  Northern  Germany. 

"  APPEAL    TO    THE    CHRIST  AIN    WOMEN    AND    MAIDENS    OF 
GERMANY. 

"You  have,  during  these  last  few  years,  often  heard  of  the 
'  Emancipation  of  Woman,"1  but  for  the  most  part  in  the  antichristian 
sense  of  the  Communists,  and  it  is  very  natural  that  you  have  a  cer- 
tain repugnance  to  the  word.  Yet  I  believe  it  admits  also  a  Chris- 
tian interpretation,  and  I  shall  not  fear  therefore  to  use  it."  *  *  * 
Then  follow  her  opinions  as  to  the  position  of  woman  in  modern 
society,  and  the  accompanying  passage :  "  After  these  explanations 
you  will  recognize,  my  dear  sisters,  that  in  that  which  I  wish  for 
our  sex,  my  purpose  is  not  at  all  directed  to  a  removal  of  natural 
limitations,  and  those  by  God  himself  arranged.  What  I  want  is 
only  a  freedom  from  the  reigning  frivolity,  and  from  the  iron  force- 
rule  of  fashion  and  a  senseless  propriety.  Understand  me,  it  is  not 


THE    APPEAL.  45 

my  purpose  to  utter  a  sentence  of  condemnation  upon  every  occupa- 
tion of  women  with  the  thousand  trifles,  which  belong  to  the  deco- 
rations of  life.  It  is  not  my  meaning  that  they  should  raise 
themselves  above  every  law  of  fashion  and  propriety.  What  I 
mean  is  this  :  the  side-matters  of  life  should  not  be  made  its  head- 
matters  ;  the  toilet  and  needle-work  and  novel-reading  should  never 
be  the  principal  occupation  of  woman,  or  that  filling  up  the  greatest 
part  of  her  time." 

She  then  alludes  to  those  to  whom  this  is  especially  addressed — • 
"  Those  who  in  general  have  the  good  will  to  do  their  duties,  but 
are  not  sure  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  them ;  and  who  on  this 
account  often  neglect  the  essential  for  the  unessential,  and,  not 
accustomed  to  a  regular  activity,  split  up  time  and  powers  in  such  a 
manner,  that  a  true  enjoyment  comes  neither  for  themselves  nor  for 
others,  not  to  say  any  lasting  profit."  ****** 

Her  opinions  of  the  sewing-work  among  the  ladies  of  the  wealthy 
classes,  are  given  as  I  before  expressed  them  :  "  I  really  believe  that 
many  a  lady  who  places  her  highest  glory  in  this — that  nothing  is 
ever  sewn  out  of  the  house,  or  that  she  does  all  the  needle-work  of 
the  house  with  her  own  hands — would  do  far  better  if  she  would 
give  this  work  over  to  some  poor  sewing  woman  or  tailoress,  and 
thus  be  of  real  assistance  to  them,  and  at  the  same  time  buy,  at  so 
small  expense,  valuable  time  to  -herself,  to  be  devoted  either  to 
the  common  interests  of  the  family,  or  to  their  higher  spiritual 
interests." 

She  then  enumerates  some  of  the  objects  to  which  she  would 
call  forth  woman's  activity,  especially  that  of  wives  and  mothers. 

"  A  rational  guidance  of  the  housekeeping  and  attention  to  de- 
tail, where  the  limited  circumstances  of  the  husband  demand  it;  if 
in  a  higher  position,  a  supervision  and  oversight  of  accounts,  with 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


the  duty  always  upon  her  of  watching  over  the  bodily  and  spiritual 
good  of  the  servants ;— the  education  of  her  mind,  so  that  the  wife 
can  be  something  more  to  the  husband  than  a  mere  housekeeper  or 
plaything ;  so  that  she  may  be  capable  of  sharing  the  interests  of 
his  profession,  and  of  being  to  him  a  helpmate  in  the  most  beautiful 
sense  of  the  word ;  so  that  her  conversation  can  be  a  refreshment  to 
him  from  his  earnest  business  and  cares,  without  drawing  his  spirit 
down  to  what  is  entirely  vain  and  trifling ;  education  of  children  in 
the  nurture  of  the  Lord;  and  finally,  whenever  the  household -cir- 
cumstances allow  it,  a  share  in  useful  public  labors,  especially  for  the 
poor  brethren  and  sisters." 

One  or  two  extracts  more  must  suffice.  This  is  characteristic : — 
"THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  POOH.  With  careful  consideration  do  I 
choose  these  words.  I  would  produce  in  every  Christian  woman, 
mistress  of  a  household,  the  conviction  that,  as  such,  she  is  under 
an  obligation  to  give  aid  to  the  needy.  In  the  oldest  Christain 
churches,  this  was  decidedly  the  ruling  idea."  Or  this  address  to 
"  The  Unmarried."  "  To  the  last  named,  who  come  especially  near 
me,  since  I  belong  to  them,  I  would  address  a  warning  woid  of 
Jove.  Oh,  dear  sisters,  I  know  many  a  one  among  you  who,  freshly 
and  joyfully,  is  working  under  God's  visible  blessing  in  His  kingdom  ; 
but  many  another  is  also  known  to  me,  to  whom  such  an  activity  is 
wanting,  and  it  does  not  surprise  me  that  such  a  one  looks  out  sad 
and  out-of-harmony  (verstimmi)  on  the  Life  which  has  perhaps 
cheated  her  in  its  sweetest  hopes.  Is  it  so,  thou  dear,  poor  sister  ? 
Oh,  take  fresh  courage !  It  is  indeed  a  beautiful  calling — the  calling 
of  wife  and  mother ;  but  meanest  thou  the  Lord  has  this  one  bless- 
ing only  for  those  who  serve  him  ?  I  tell  thee  this-blessing  is  as 
manifold  as  is  the  mode  in  which  we  can  devote  our  powers  to  Hia 
honor  in  the  service  of  others.  Rest  not  till  thou  hast  found  such 


WOMAN'S   SPHERE.  47 


a  life's  calling.  That  this  must  of  course  be  in  the  circle  of  the 
sick  and  the  poor,  is  no  way  necessary.  It  is  not  there  alone  that 
there  is  need  of  the  free  labor  of  love.  In  all  circles  of  human 
society,  can  a  field  for  this  be  found,  if  only  each  one  understand 
her  own  correct  limitation  and  work. 

"  One  thing  only  would  I  lay  to  thine  heart,  that  in  the  forming 
thy  life-plan  thou  shouldst  not  place  the  demands  upon  thee  too  low  ; 
that  thy  activity  be  as  much  as  possible  a  regularly  arranged  one  ; 
and  that  thou  subjectest  thyself  to  a  binding  rule,  and  never,  with- 
out absolute  necessity,  variest  from  it." 

We  close  with  this  extract,  in  regard  to  woman's  engaging  in 
politics,  which  shows  the  same  sensible  tone,  and  gives  us  a  glimpse 
at  Germany.  "  fn  general,  I  believe  that  the  natural  capacities  of 
woman's  mind  are  as  little  favorable  to  the  deeper  study  of  politics 
as  to  that  of  mathematics.  *  *  *  Women  here  have  no  reason 
to  lament  that  they  see  the  entrance  to  the  depths  of  politics  closed 
to  them.  Alas !  there  are  so  many  discords  there,  which  it  is  so 
hard  to  bring  in  harmony  with  the  feelings  of  a  soul  directed 
by  the  gospel-truth  to  a  universal  philantrophy  !  *  *  * 
And  to  what  end  would  her  activity  here  be  ?  To  man,  and  to 
woman  especially,  in  all  efforts,  there  is  ever  a  need  to  have  a  prac- 
tical aim  before  the  eyes,  and  here  it  must  be  entirely  wanting." 


CHAPTEK  V 

KXCURSIOtf    TO    THE    DUCHIES. 

MY  purpose  had  been,  in  visiting  this  part  of  Germany,  to  make 
an  excursion  into  the  Duchies  of  Schleswig  and  Holstein,  both  that 
I  might  see  something  of  a  country  in  a  state  of  war,  and  because 
this  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  truly  original  parts  of  Northern 
Europe.  The  people,  as  they  are  fond  of  boasting,  are  from  the 
old,  original  Anglo-Saxon  stock,  from  whose  coasts  came  the  wild 
freebooters  that  peopled  England  and  gave  to  it  and  to  America 
their  most  vigorous  race.*  The  inhabitants  please  themselves  now 
with  tracing  their  resemblance  to  the  English,  and  there  is  much, 
attachment  among  them  for  that  people  ;  so  that  the  position  Eng- 
land has  taken  in  their  war  with  Denmark  is  peculiarly  bitter  to 
them.  The  country  varies  much  in  the  capacities  of  its  soil  and  its 
appearance.  The  central  tracts  running  from  Altona  up  as  far  as 
Fiends  burg,  are  flat  and  sandy,  and  in  some  parts  exceedingly 
boggy,  with  no  very  productive  land.  On  the  west  of  this,  near 

*  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  fttii,  ani  Jlngli,  and  Fmi  who  in- 
vaded  England  in  the  fifth  century,  and  eventually  conquered  it,  came  from 
these  various  districts  of  Denmark. 


THE    DUCHIES.  49 


the  coast  of  the  German  ocean,  is  a  wide  strip  of  marshy  country, 
but  wherever  recovered  and  drained,  the  best  land  in  North  Europe  ; 
while  on  the  other  side,  all  along  the  Baltic,  and  reaching  in  near 
the  interior  lakes,  and  embracing  the  small  Duchy  of  Oldenburgh, 
it  the  pre-eminently  fertile  land  of  the  Duchies ;  a  country  generally 
level  and  with  springy  soil,  but  highly  cultivated,  and  contain- 
ing in  parts  some  of  the  richest  pastures  and  best  dairy  farms  in 
Europe. 

Towards  this  part  of  Holstein  I  directed  my  journey,  purposing 
to  go  farther  into  the  northern  and  western  districts,  if  I  could  ob- 
tain the  requisite  "  permits,"  or  if  the  country  seemed  sufficiently 
safe. 

Encumbered  with  no  luggage,  and  with  only  my  knapsack  and 
walking-stick,  I  took  the  omnibus  for  Altona,  a  very  thriving  com- 
mercial town,  only  some  three  miles  down  the  Elbe  from  the  city, 
and  so  connected  by  country-seats  and  numerous  houses  of  refresh- 
ment that  it  seems  almost  another  quarter  of  Hamburg.  It  is 
however,  in  fact,  a  prosperous  rival  in  commerce  to  the  larger  city, 
and  the  citizens  say,  answers  too  well  to  its  name  "  All-zu-nahe," 
"  All-too-near."  Before  this  war  between  the  Duchies  and  Den- 
mark, it  was  second  only  to  Copenhagen  in  the  Danish  kingdom, 
both  for  population  and  commerce.  It  took  sides  strongly  with  the 
provinces  against  the  king,  and  has  suffered  much  during  this  unfor 
tunate  war.  The  inhabitants  are  mostly  of  German  descent  and 
speak  the  German  language,  so  that  they  joined  heartily  in  the 
universal  movement  for  a  nationality  in  Germany,  and  are  bitterly 
reluctant  to  come  again  under  the  Danish  rule.  At  Altona  my 
plan  was  to  take  the  cars  for  Neumiinster,  on  the  railroad  which 
connects  Hamburg  with  Kiel  and  the  Baltic.  The  train  was 
delayed  somewhat,  and  I  waited  at  the  station. 
9 


50  SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   GERMANY 


A  railroad  dep6t  in  North  Europe  is  an  entirely  different  affair 
from  anything  of  the  kind  with  us.  The  principal  and  peculiar 
trait  which  the  stranger  observes  on  entering  it,  is  the  remarkable 
adaptation  of  the  building  for  eating  and  drinking.  The  whole 
structure  may  be  as  large  as  our  best  station-houses;  but  the  best 
halls,  the  finest  rooms  are  reserved  for  dining  and  lunching  rooms. 
The  waiting  halls,  the  baggage-closets,  the  platforms  are  small, 
ill- furnished,  or  inconvenient,  but  wherever  there  is  any  eating  to 
be  done,  yo;u  have  convenience  and  even  comfort. 

I  entered  a  large,  handsome  apartment  that  morning,  filled  with 
small  tables,  which  even  at  that  early  hour  (seven  o'clock)  were 
crowded  with  various  parties,  and  ordered  my  gloss  of  coffee  and 
rolls.  Every  variety  of  class  seemed  to  be  gathered  there  at  their 
Fruhstuck  (breakfast).  The  common  Holstein  peasant  women,  with 
their  neatly-fitting  red  boddices  and  sun-browned  faces,  eating  the 
Wurst  (a  kind  of  sausage)  and  black  bread.  The  men,  their  huge 
baskets  by  their  side,  drinking  beer  and  smoking  the  long  pipes. 
At  other  tables,  soldiers  playing  cards,  with-  interludes  of  sour  wine 
and  bread  and  butter ;  officers  in  dashing  helmets  reading  their 
morning  papers  over  bottles  of  Rhenish  ;  travellers  in  great  fur 
wrappers  drinking  coffee,  and  ladies  sipping  tea.  All  in  one  room  ; 
a  cloud  of  tobacco-smoke  rising  over  it  all,  and  a  confused  noise 
coming  forth  of  clinking  beer  glasses,  German  oaths,  jangling  sabres, 
and  cheerful  gossip. 

On  each  side  there  appeared  to  be  smaller  breakfast  rooms, 
where  the  more  select  parties  met— usually  officers  of  rank  going  to 
the  Holstein  camps.  At  the  signal  of  a  bell,  we  all  arose  and  went 
through  different  doors  marked  with  the  numbers  or  the  three  dif- 
ferent classes,  to  get  our  tickets.  Each  class  had  its  own  ticket- 
office,  and  there  were  officers  stationed  everywhere  to  prevent 


THIRD-CLASS    TRAVEL  51 


mistake.  Scarcely  any  one,  except  a  few  foreign-looking  travellers, 
went  to  the  first-class  office.  I  took  a  place  in  the  third  class. 

In  England,  the  great  principle  of  rail-road  arrangements  as  re 
spects  third  class  travelling,  is  to  discourage  it  in  every  way  possible. 
The  "  parliamentary  trains "  are  always  the  slowest,  the  most  un- 
comfortable, and  the  most  uncertain  and  inconvenient  in  times  of 
departure  and  connections,  of  all  the  trains.  In  Germany  it  is  not 
so.  The  accommodations  for  the  third  class  are  very  nearly  equal 
to  those  of  the  second  ;  and  the  time  and  speed  is  the  same  for  all 
classes.  After  the  tickets  were  bought,  each  of  us  who  had  heavy 
baggage  went  to  another  office,  presented  the  luggage  and  the 
ticket,  received  a  baggage  receipt,  and  if  the  baggage  was  over- 
weight, paid  accordingly.  At  the  end  of  the  journey,  the  baggage 
is  returned  at  the  presentation  of  the  receipt.  These  arrangements 
on  all  the  German  roads  are  remarkably  thorough  and  faithful.  I 
have  travelled  over  thousands  of  miles  on  them,  and  never  yet  saw 
the  slightest  difficulty  on  any  of  them  with  the  baggage  of  travellers. 
Nor,  in  fact,  have  I  ever  witnessed  the  smallest  accident.  The 
double  tracks,  the  sentinels  stationed  every  half-mile,  and  the  very 
strict  regulations  for  the  companies,  make  any  dangerous  occurrence 
very  improbable. 

The  care,  or  "  carriages,"  as  the  English  say,  I  found  differently 
arranged  from  our  own.  In  place  of  one  long  apartment  running 
through  the  whole  car,  there  are  several  different  compartments 
entered  from  the  sides,  and  with  seats  extending  from  one  door  to 
tho  other.  In  the  first  class,  the  coupes  or  partitioned  parts  .con- 
tained only  two  or  four  seats,  each  a  cushioned  arm-chair,  as  in  our 
own  cars,  though  not  half  so  elegant.  The  divisions  in  the  second 
and  third  classes  can  contain  each  some  twelve  or  fourteen  persons, 
sitting  on  two  lines  of  seats  facing  each  other.  The  third  class  seats 


$2  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 

•  have  no  cushion,  and  the  second  only  a  thin  hair  covering.  Smoking 
was  forbidden  on  these  cars  in  notices,  printed  in  some  three  or  four 
different  languages ;  and  I  should  not  exaggerate  in  saying,  that 
there  were  no  less  than  three  or  four  different  "  nationalities,"  smoking 
all  tobacco  from  the  strongest  "  Virginia"  to  the  mildest  Hungarian, 
in  every  compartment  of  every  car !  The  military-looking  man,  who 
at  once  demanded  our  passports  and  our  tickets,  kept  a  cigar  smoking 
in  one  hand  behind  him  while  he  took  them  with  the  other. 

The  only  other  thing  which  struck  me  as  peculiarly  foreign  in 
the  arrangements,  was  the  locking  every  door,  just  before  the  trains 
started.  There  is  no  rail-road  either  on  the  continent,  or  in  Eng- 
land, which  will  at  all  compete  with  the  American  roads  in  the 
convenience  and  elegance  of  the  carriages.  Even  the  "  royal  cars  " 
have  not  that  grace  and  airiness,  and  the  conveniences  attached 
which  belong  to  our  common  cars ;  and  the  providing  of  a  stove, 
or  of  an  apartment  for  sickness  in  a  rftil-car  is  altogether  unknown 
in  Europe. 

Our  ride  this  day  towards  Neumunster  was  at  first  quite  unin- 
teresting— the  country  flat  and  dreary,  and  so  like  many  of  the 
sandy  and  boggy  tracts  along  our  rail-roads  at  home,  that,  sunk  in 
my  newspaper,  I  had  quite  forgotten  I  was  in  a  strange  land,  until 
the  "  Wold  bekommts  /"— "  May  it  be  well  with  thee  !  "—from  a 
little  girl  opposite,  at  my  sneeze,  reminded  me  I  was  not  at  all  in 
Yankee  land.  Farther  on,  the  country  became  gradually  more  in- 
teresting. There  were  more  cultivated  farms,  and  various  little  vil- 
lages, with  the  red-tiled  roofs,  and  high-pointed  gables.  Pretty 
hedges,  too,  began  to  appear  over  the  whole  country,  rmich  like  the 
English.  They  are  raised  on  mounds,  and  many  of  them  are  of 
small  beach  trees.  There  were  signs  along  the  road  of  a  country  in 
a  state  of  war.  Crowds  of  soldiers  stood  at  the  different  stopping 


AFOOT  AGAIN!  53 

places,  and  filled  up  the  cars,  hastening  on  generally  towards  Rends- 
burgh,  near  which  is  the  central  camp  of  the  army.  They  were 
young,  and  seemed  in  high  spirits,  and  were  apparently  farmers  and 
lousiness  men,  drafted  in  to  fill  up  the  army,  so  much  thinned  by 
some  of  these  late  assaults.  Many  of  them  had  almost  the  Prussian 
uniform,  especially  the  round  smooth  helmet,  with  a  spike  in  the 
top.  Near  one  or  two  of  the  stations  were  hospitals,  and  the  sight 
of  men  walking  abouf  with  bandages,  or  limping  on  their  crutches, 
and  with  weapons  battered  and  worn,  began  to  make  War  seem  a 
reality.  My  car  was  occupied  by  the  peasants  for  the  most  part,  and 
I  was  much  struck  with  their  politeness  to  one  another.  Every 
clumsy  Bauer  that  tumbled  in  with  his  bags,  or  that  left  the  cars, 
wished  us  all  "  good  morning,"  with  the  greatest  ease  and  politeness ; 
and  the  Kiel  students,  who  came  in  with  their  jaunty  caps  and  long 
pipes,  bowed  to  the  old  apple  women  as  they  would  have  done  to 
ladles. 

At  Neumiinster  I  ieft  the  rail-road  and  struck  off  on  foot  eastward 
towards  the  "  Ploner  See,"  a  large  interior  lake.  It  was  reallly 
exhilarating  to  be  travelling  away  on  foot  again— knapsack  on  my 
back  and  walking-stick  in  hand — with  such  perfect  independence  of 
vehicles  and  conveniences.  I  have  traversed  something  of  Europe 
in  this  way ;  and  over  an  interesting  country,  I  know  no  more  ex- 
citing mode  of  journeying.  There  is  a  dash  of  adventure  in  it  all 
the  while.  .  You  meet  strange  comrades,  see  what  books  and  trav- 
ellers do  not  tell  of  much  ;  and  can  have  many  a  chat. with  common 
people  in  their  own  homes.  There  is  so  much  less  of  the  usual 
traveller's  annoyance  of  cheating  and  bargaining.  It  is  all  so  inde- 
pendent. I  was,  at  this  time,  in  very  good  condition  for  walking, 
having  just  "  finished  "  the  highlands  of  Scotland,  and  accordingly 
felt  nothing  to  lessen  the  interest  of  the  walk.  There  was  something 


54  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 

stimulating  to  my  fancy  in  the  idea  of  journeying  over  this  old 
patriarchal  country.  I  found  much,  too,  all  along  the  road  new  to 
me.  The  one-story  farm-houses  with  their  immensely  high  peaked  red 
roofs ;  and  the  heavy  thatched  barns  quite  as  handsomely  built  as 
the  houses ;  the  long  green  banks  with  the  hedges  upon  them,  and 
the  huge  wagons  of  wicker  were  all  peculiar  to  this  part  of  Europe. 
Occasionally,  too,  I  passed  a  squad  of  the  new  recruits,  or  walked 
through  a  village  where  military  drilling  was  going  on.  I  feared 
some  interruption,  or  insult  with  my  foreign  look,  and  travelling 
in  this  rather  peculiar  way,  but  there  was  never  anything  of  the 
kind.  And,  I  may  say  here  with  real  thankfulness,  that  in  all  my 
wanderings  and  rough  adventures  in  Europe,  at  least,  on  the  Conti- 
nent, I  have  never  experienced  from  the  lowest  or  highest  classes 
anything  but  courtesy  and  kindness.  The  only  annoyances  I  have 
suffered  have  been  from  Governments. 

As  I  went  on  in  my  walk  in  Eastern  Holstein,  the  country  became 
more  and  more  interesting.  The  beautiful  lakes  which  mark  this 
part  of  Europe  began  to  appear.  The  banks  were  all  skirted  with 
trees  to  the  water's  edge,  and  were  bright  now  with  autumn  color- 
ing. The  foliage  is  not  so  brilliantly  tinted  as  with  us,  yet  it  has  a 
soft,  pleasant  coloring,  and  the  frequent  mingling  of  the  American 
wild  vine,  (ampelopsis  quinquefolia,)  throws  in  a  vivid  hue  with 
striking  effect.  The  waters  were  filled  with  pretty  little  fringed 
islands,  and  on  every  side  stretched  away  cultivated  fields,  with 
hedges  or  graceful  clumps  of  trees  here  and  there.  Over  all  was 
the  soft,  rich  October  light,  so  that  the  landscape  left  upon  me  an 
indescribable  impression  of  gentleness  and  peacefulness.  And  in  the 
quiet  scene,  I  forgot  that  I  was  entering  a  land  where  every  green 
valley  and  hill-side  had  just  been  stained  by  the  blood  of  its  best  and 
bravest  sons. 


A    VISIT.  55 


It  was  only  till  after  night-fall,  that  I  judged  I  must  bo  near  the 
estate  of  the  gentleman  I  intended  to  visit. 

As  I  could  fiad  frothing  of  it,  I  turned  to  a  peasant's  cottage 
knocked  and,  entered  a  large  room  which  extended  the  whole 
length  of  the  house.  It  seemed  a  stable,  as  the  cows  were  fas- 
tened on  one  side,  though  on  the  other,  rooms  opened  into  it.  At 
the  other  end-  was  a  great  fire  burning,  and  an  old  woman 
tending  it.  When  she  heard  me  entering,  she  came  forward,  and 
in  answer  to  my  inquiry,  delivered  an  unintelligible  speech  -in 
Platt  Deutuch,  (Low  German).  I  repeated,  and  she  apparently 
understood  me,  while  I  could  make  nothing  of  what  she  said. 
We  laughed  at  our  difficulties ;  and  she  called  a  boy,  who  took 
my  knapsack  at  her  direction,  and  beckoned  to  me  to  follow  him. 
I  walked  along  after  him,  and  after  winding  in  the  twilight  through 
a  long  lane,  and  then  through  an  avenue  of  old  trees,  we  reached 
the  house. 

1  Had  been  growing  gradually  more  and  more  timid  at  the  idea 
of  penetrating  thus,  a  stranger  with  my  limited  German,  into  a 
family  who  probably  knew  nothing  of  English ;  but  my  fears  were 
quickly  removed  by  the  friendly  and  almost  primitive  hospitality 
with  which  I  was  received,  and  I  was  soon  in  pleasant  conversation 
with  an  excitable  young  politician,  who  had  served  awhile  against 
the  Danes,  and  who  labored  most  earnestly  to  .show  me  the  wrongs 
heaped  upon  the  Duchies  by  the  accursed  Denmark.  Some  pleasant 
ladies  welcomed  us  to'one  of  those  bountiful  German  suppers  which 
travellers  only  can  fully  appreciate,  and  I  listened  till  a  late  hour,  as 
the  "  Politiker  "  'argued  or  fought'his  battles  over  and  described  how 
the  Danes  fled  at  Schleswig  beyond  all  pursuit  or  trace,  and  how 
die  canals  and  ramparts  drove  back  the  brave  Holsteiners  at  Fried- 


SOCIAL    LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


richstadt ;  or  while  the  sisters  told  their  hopes  and  fears  for  their 
two  brothers  in  the  camp. 

At  the  close  of  the  evening,  I  was  shown  into  a  large  "  guest- 
chamber  "  on  the  ground  floor,  and  was  soon  sound  asleep  on  a  gen- 
uine, old,  patriarchal,  Saxon  bed. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A    HOLSTEIN    FARM. 

THE  next  morning,  as  soon  as  possible  after  breakfast,  I  started  out 
with  the  son  of  my  host,  the  young  politician,  to  see  the  buildings  and 
grounds  on  the  estate.  The  house  itself,  like  nearly  all  I  have  seen  of 
the  "  proprietors  "  (  Outs  besitzer)  here,  is  built  of  oak  beams,  filled  in 
with  bricks,  similarly  to  the  "  timber  houses  "of  England.  It  is 
only  one  story,  but  very  long  and  with  high  pointed  roof,  covered 
with  red  tiles.  Within,  there  are  great  numbers  of  those  large 
rooms  which  the  Germans  appear  to  delight  in.  Here  again,  as 
everywhere,  are  the  high  porcelain  stoves,  and  beside,  heavy  articles 
of  oak  furniture  with  brass  ornaments,  giving  a  most  antique  air  to 
the  rooms.  There  are  the  same  marks  which  one  finds  in  nearly  all 
the  German  houses  of  a  highly  cultivated  taste. 

The  buildings  on  most  of  these  estates  are  arranged  in  the  form 
of  a  parallelogram.  Here,  for  instance,  we  passed  down  the  court 
from  the  house  under  a  fine  avenue  of  lindens,  with  high  roofed 
buildings  on  each  side  which  had  brick  walls  and  windows,  and 
looked  like  dwellings,  but  were  only  barns  and  cattle-stables,  until 
we  came  forth  under  a  gate-way,  through  a  large  granary  at  the 
3* 


58  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 

end  of  the  court.  This  farm,  like  most  of  those  in  Holste.'n,  is 
principally  a  dairy  farm,  though  having  large  fields  of  grain.  I  saw 
in  the  pastures  some  hundred  and  fifty  cows,  many  of  them  crosses 
of  the  Ayrshire  breed,  with  the  old  native  Angeln  stock.  Agricul- 
ture is  carritd  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection  in  the  Duchies.  The 
whole  system  of  "thorough  draining,"  an  improvement  so  little 
known  even  in  our  country,  with  its  immense  advantage  to  such  a 
soil  as  this,  has  been  understood  and  successfully  practiced  in  Hoi- 
stein  nearly  eight  years. 

We  passed  in  our  walk  large  fields,  where  wheat,  oats  and  barley 
had  been  grown,  and  long  stretches  of  turnips  and  carrots  for  cattle. 
Generally,  however,  in  Holstein,  these  are  not  used  for  cattle-feed— 
the  common  fodder  in  winter  being  hay  and  corn-straw,  with  bran 
or  oil  cake.  The  barns  and  stables  were  all  of  brick,  and  were  re- 
markably comfortable  and  substantial. 

The  horses  were  of  good  blood,  and  were,  the  best  I  have  seen 
out  of  England.  The  export  of  horses  from  Holstein  is  one  of  the 
most  profitable  branches  of  business. 

Our  path  carried  us  by,  also,  some  of  the  cottages  of  the 
Bauer,  or  peasants,  who  are  tenants  on  this  estate.  They  seemed 
many  of  them  to  be  living  in  considerable  comfort,  though  the  barns 
looked  better  often  'than  the  houses.  I  observed  here  again  that 
singular  arrangement  of  houses  which  surprised  me  the  first  .evening 
in  the  peasant's  cottage.  Large  folding-doors  at  the  end  of  the 
house  open  into  the  stable,  and  the  rooms  for  the  family  are  on  ono 
side,  and  entered  from  this.  The  high  loft  above  is  used  for  fodder 
and  rubbish.  Everything  is  kept  so  neatly  that  little  inconve- 
nience is  experienced  from  this  arrangement.  The  inside  rooms 
are  often  quite  tastefully  ornamented. 

My  host,  as  I  said  before,  is  a  landholder — with  some  300  acres 


PEASANTS.  59 


These  large  estates  of  from  100  to  5,000  acres  are  now  mostly 
farmed  by  tenants.  They  are  reckoned  by  Lmng,  at  3,057.  The 
laud  of  the  Duchies  is  generally  occupied  by  small  proprietors, 
corresponding  to  our  American  "  farmers,"  on  dairy  farms  support- 
ing ten  or  fifteen  cows.  These  farms,  according  to  the  same  author- 
ity, number  125,150.  Originally  these  estates  all  had  the  "  Bauer" 
attached  to  them,  as  serfs  ;  but  within  forty  years,  serfdom  has  been 
entirely  done  away,  and  the  only  remains  of  it  are  a  kind  of  per- 
petual rent,  (Abgabe),  which  a  few  of  the  Bauer  are  still  obliged  to 
pay,  though  they  are  considered  owners  of  the  land ;  somewhat  as 
it  is  on  part  of  the  Patroon  estates  in  New  York,  with  the  excep- 
tion that  these  tenants  .are  obliged  to  pay  in  money,  and  that 
their  estates  would  be  sold  at  auction,  if  they  refused.  Some  of 
the  Bauer  are  bona  fide  owners  of  the  land,  and  hold  large  estates, 
with  an  income  in  some  cases  of  $1 0,00'0  a  year.  Others  are  tenants, 
paying  rent  like  the  small  farmers  of  England.  In  a  population  of 
662,500  souls  in  the  Duchies,  there  are  67,700  peasants  who  own 
a  house  and  land;  17,480  who  .own  a  house  alone;  and  36,283 
who  are  merely  day-laborers.* 

A  great  deal  has  been  done  in  the  Du:-hies,  and  indeed  in  &11  Ger- 
many, for  the  education  of  the  lower  classes.  Every  man  is  obliged 
to  send  his  children  to  school,  or  he  is  exposed  to  a  fine.  Advance- 
ment in  the  army,  attaining  of  the  commonest  state  offices  and  even 
confirmation  in  the  church  is  made  dependent,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  on  the  previous  education.  Yet  I  am  bound  to  say,  I  ain 
struck  everywhere  with  the  fact — a  fact  which  all  good  men  in 
Germany  deeply  feel — that  the  great  results  of  education  are  not 
apparent  in  their^ lower  classes.  The  peasants  can  write  and  read, 

*  Laing's  Denmark. 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


and  cast  up  accounts,  but  they  never  have  been  taught  to  think. 
There  is  very  little  active  intelligence  among  them,  very  little  which 
would  fit  them  to  support  a  system  of  self-government.  When  we 
talk  of  our  grand  system  of  schools  and  colleges  at  home,  it  may 
be  worth  while  to  remember  that  they  are  not  by  any  means  all 
the  basis  of  our  education.  The  American  people  has  been  passing 
through,  and  is  passing  still  through,  an  education  very  different 
from  what  is  gained  from  either  books  or  lectures. 

It  is  always  hazardous,  accounting  for  the  condition  of  a  whole 
people  on  one  cause ;  but  I  would  say,  that  if  any  one  thing  could 
be  found  which  deadened  all  religious  life,  and  along  with  it,  all- 
intellectual  life  in  the  peasantry  of  Germany,  it  is  this  making  Reli- 
gion and  the  developments  of  religion  a  subject  of  Law.  Wher- 
ever I  have  been  in  Germany,  the  conversation  has  fallen  very 
naturally  on  this  "  Confirmation-law  ;"  and  I  have  never  yet  heard 
any  sound  reason  given  for  it.  By  this  enactment,  no  man  can 
attain  to  any  civil  office,  no  man  can  be  a  pedlar  or  a  soldier, 
or  even  claim  the  protection  of  his  country's  law,  without  having 
first  made  a  solemn  confession  of  his  faith  and  hope,  and  received 
confirmation  from  his  pastor.  The  natural  consequence  is,  that 
every  Bauer  comes  to  look  upon  the  profession  of  his  faith  much  as 
he  does  upon  his  drill  and  his  tax-paying,  as  a  task  commanded  by 
government,  which  he  had  better  go  through  with  quietly,  and  so 
save  himself  from  fine.  But  the  deep  experience  in  religion,  as  an 
individual  matter  of  the  heart ;  the  personal  interest  in  the  church 
and  in  the  preacher ;  the  consciousness  of  sympathy  with  those  who 
have  united  voluntarily  for  good  objects,  he  very  selcfom  feels.  Ic 
Holstein,  and  wherever  I  travel  in  Germany,  I  hear  constant  com- 
plaints of  the  very  little  interest  taken  by  the  lower  classes  iu 
religion,  and  in  the  institutions  of  worship.  They  are  honest  and 


CONFIRMATION.  61 


moral  and  industrious ;  but  as  to  troubling  their  minds  very  much 
about  the  Being  above  them,  or  a  future,  that  is  quite  another 
matter.  They  are  content  to  go  on,  as  .their  fathers  have  gono 
before  them,  to  smoke  their  pipe  and  drink  their  coffee,  go  to  church 
as  little  as  possible,  and  then  quietly  and  easily  drop  away  from  life. 

It  is  a  sad  picture,  perhaps  one  of  the  saddest  to  draw  of  any 
people.  Yet,  I  am  compelled  to  believe  it  is  true. 

Many  of  the  Germans  will  defend  this  law  on  the  ground  that 
the  great  object  of  it,  is  education ;  to  give  the  State  everywhere 
educated  servants,  and  that  the  religious  confession  is  only  a  side 
matter.  Others,  with  the  usual  tendency  of  the  nation,  will  carry 
you  back  to  the  original  "  foundation-idea"  of  government,  as  includ- 
ing in  it  that  of  church  and  of  education  also. 

Waiving  this  last  argument  here,  as  somewhat  too  remote  in  the 
mists  of  metaphysics,  we  may  say,  as  far  as  mere  education  is  con- 
cerned, or  as  far  as  the  idea  of  religious  life  being  generally  a 
gradual  development  is  included,  we  could  not  have  so  strong  an 
objection  to  this  system  of  the  Germans.  But  the  whole  appear- 
ance of  the  law,  and  the  general  effect,  is  something  entirely  differ- 
ent from  this.  It  is,  in  fact,  compelling  a  man,  by  formidable 
punishments,  to  do  that  which  of  all  acts  of  his  life  should  be  the 
freest  and  the  truest — to  make  publicly  a  profession  of  religiou* 
belief  and  religious  obligations ;  and  the  natural  effects  seem  to  me 
easily  foreseen. 

But  to  return  to  the  Holstein  farm,  where  I  was  walking  around 
among  the  Bauer-houses  and  in  the  harvest  fields.  The  morning 
was  very  pleasant,  and  my  friend  took  me  up  to  a  hill  from  which  I 
could  get  a  good  view  of  the  neighboring  country.  It  was  a  beau- 
tiful land.  My  eye  passed  over  a  wide  landscape  of  gently-sloping 
hills,  and  smooth  fields,  and  graceful  clumps  of  beeches  and  elms. 


62  SOCIAL   LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


the  whole  mellowed  by  the  sofc  tint  which  autumn-light  throws 
over  everything ;  while  far  in  the  distance  we  could  just  see  the 
sparkle  of  the  first  of  the  lakes  which  vary  so  beautifully  the  surface 
of  Eastern  Holstein.  There  were  green  hedges  everywhere,  and  the  • 
whole  had  the  appearance  of  a  quiet,  peaceful  English  landscape. 
It  was  one  of  the  last  scenes  which  would  remind  one  of  fierce  fight 
and  bloodshed  and  war.  Yet  it  is  such  quiet  country-scenes  as  this 
all  over  Holstein,  which  have  been  trampled  and  wasted  in  this 
hotly-contested  struggle.  Every  one  of  its  featu'res  has  had  its 
influence  in  the  war.  The  hedges  which  beautify  the  whole  coun- 
try of  the  Duchies,  planted  as  they  are  upon  high  mounds,  have 
almost  entirely  prevented  the  use  of  cavalry  by  either  party,  and 
have  afforded  excellent  shelter  for  the  rifleman.  The  low,  level 
character  of  the  land,  and  the  frequency  of  lakes,  has  given  the 
Danes  their  greatest  defence — the  inundations  which  they  could 
cause  around  their  works ;  while  the  gentle,  easily-sloping  hills, 
have  prevented  the  opportunity  everywhere  for  very  strong  defences, 
except  in  the  cities. 

My  companion  was  a  very  intelligent  person,  and  despite  my 
imperfect  German,  we  discussed  everything  about  both  America 
and  the  Duchies,  which  would  interest  either  of  us. 

On  our  walk  back  to  the  house,  we  passed  through  a  large 
garden,  showing  not  by  any  means  such  careful  cultivation  as  the 
fields. 

In  such  a  family,  and  with  so  many  interesting  objects  around,  a  few 
days  passed  Very  pleasantly.  The  whole  life  here  has  something  ex- 
tremely generous,  and  almost  oriental,  about  it.  Wl^en  we  meet  in 
the  morning  at  "  morning  coffee,"  we  all  shake  hands  as  if  we  had  been 
to  a  distant  country,  and  wish  each  other  almost  solemnly  the  morning 


DOMESTIC    HABITS   AND    CHARACTER.  6J 


salutations,  j&very  one  pays  great  deference  to  the  father,  a  simple, 
dignified  old  man  ;  and  the  Bauer  come  up  constantly  to  the  house 
as  though  they  were  members  of  the  family,  for  his  advice  and  assist- 
ance. And  as  I  walked  over  the  farm,  I  observed  that  every  la- 
borer and  boy  we  met,  took  off  his  hat,  and  the  master  did  the 
same.  We  meet  again  about  eleven  for  the  breakfast,  a  more  for- 
mal meal.  Here,  as  nearly  everywhere  in  Germany  where  thanks 
are  offered  at  all  at  a  meal,  it  is  done  in  silence— &  much  more  im- 
pressive ceremony,  than  our  hurried,  careless  form.  It  is  very  diffi- 
cult for  most  persons  to  preserve  the  life  in  words  so  often  repeated, 
or  to  invent  new  words  for  each  occasion ;  but  in  these  few  moments 
of  solemn  stillness,  thoughts  can  be  breathed  which  are  really 
prayer. 

After  this  morning  meal,  comes  the  principal  business  of  the  day ; 
and  in  this  family,  the  ladies  do  the  principal  part  of  the  housework. 
Again  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  we  meet  at  the  great  meal  of 
the  day,  the  dinner.  This  is  a  long,  social  meal,  with  a  strange 
variety  of  dishes,  which  I  will  not  try  to  enumerate.  After  it  is 
over,  we  all  rise  and  shake  hands,  with  the  words,  "  Geseynet-die 
Mahlzeit"  (blessed  be  the  meal !)  in  a. quite  serious  manner  ;  then 
follows  coffee  in  the  sitting  room,  and  in  the  beginning  of  the  even- 
ing again,  tea  and  biscuit;  and  at  the  end,  another  hearty  supper 
of  meats,  &c. 

In  education  and'  refinement,  the  whole  family  would  compare 
favorably  with  the  families  of  our  best  farmers  at  home.  The  father 
is  very  much  like  some  of  the  English  country  gentlemen  I  have 
seen,  in  the  genial,  hospitable  way  he  has  ;  yet  his  politeness  seems 
much  more  from  the  heart  than  theirs,  and  there  is  much  less  that 
is  coarse  and  animal  about  him.  He  drinks  the  light  wine,  but 
docs  not  seem  to  consider  it  at  all  a  duty,  that  he  should  force  every 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


guest  to  drink  till  he  is  under  the  table.  They  were  all  well-read, 
and  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  Cooper's  novels  had  penetrated 
there,  (in  translation,)  arid  that  they  were  deeply  interested  in  them. 
Of  course  they  were  thinking  and  talking  mostly  of  the  war ;  and, 
like  nearly  all  I  meet,  they  could  not  but  acknowledge,  how  little 
object  there  was  in  it. 

As  one  reads  in  the  Times  how  England  and  Russia  on  one  side, 
and  Prussia  on  the  other,  stand  looking  down  upon  this  little  War 
of  the  Duchies,  ready,  like  sportsmen  in  the  ring,  to  bet  now  on  this 
side  and  now  on  that,  and  admiring  complacently  the  "  pluck"  of 
the  two  combatants,  one  gets  a  very  different  idea  of  the  struggle 
from  what  one  does  when  among  the  parties.  Here  every  man's 
heart  and  soul  are  in  the  war,  as  a  struggle  for  independence  from 
the  hated  Danes ;  and  the  issue  assumes  a  terrible  aspect  to  them, 
as  they  see  that  life  and  property  will  depend  on  it 

This  family  had  two  sons  in  the  army  ;  and  as  I  saw  that  day 
the  trembling  anxiety  of  the  mother  for  the  news  from  the  camp — 
and  as  I  heard  from  the  sisters,  how  in  the  battle  of  Idstedt,  which 
was  not  very  far  from  them,  they  listened  all  day  to  every  boom  of 
the  cannon  with  beating  hearts — and  how  happy  the  home  was 
when  the  news  came  that  their  brothers  were  unhurt — I  felt  how 
terrible  a  thing,  even  on  the  smallest  scale,  this  "  War"  is !  My 
friend  had  served  awhile  in  the  army,  and  we  had  many  conversa- 
tions on  this  contest  with  Denmark.  I  have  since  seen  many  of  the 
party  of  the  Duchies,  and  have  read  quite  thoroughly  the  docu- 
ments and  state  papers  issued  in  regard  to  the  grounds  of  the  war. 
Of  the  questions  at  issue,  I  shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter. 

But  the  melancholy  thing  about  it  all  is— whichever  side  has  the 
right— that  all  this  loss  of  life,  and  bombarding  of  cities,  and 
desolating  of  happy  provinces,  is  of  no  use  so  far  as  the  result  is 


THE   RESULT.  65 

concerned.  The  destiny  of  Schleswig-Holstein  will  be  decided 
by  diplomatists  far  away  ;  and  the  great  powers  of  Europe,  which- 
ever side  gain  the  victory,  will  settle  the  disputed  question  them- 
selves. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HOLSTEIN    AND    THE    CAMPS. 

October,  I860. 

I  FELT  as  if  parting  from  old  friends,  when  after  a  few  days'  stay, 
I  shook  hands  with  each  one  of  the  family,  and  started  off  iu  my 
host's  "carriage  for  the  neighboring  town  of  EUTIN.  The  country 
all  through  this  part  of  Holstein  is  very  beautiful.  I  was  con- 
stantly reminded  of  England,  in  the  gently  sloping  hills  and  hedges 
and  level,  carefully  tilled  fields.  The  farm  houses,  howe  ver,  are  not 
?.t  all  English;  being,  as  I  before  mentioned,  usually  only  of  one 
story,  with  a  high  painted  roof,  covered  either  with  thatch  or  red 
tile.  There  are  pretty  lakes  too,  scattered  all  through  the  country 
— and  groves,  where  sometimes  on  the  estates 'of  the  large  proprie- 
tors, the  trees  are  grouped  with  a  great  deal  of  taste.  Eutin,  (pro- 
i  uounced  Oiteen,)  which  we  reached  in  a  few  hours,  is  the  capital  of 
the  little  Duch'y  of  Oldenburgh — a  province  situated  in  the  midst 
of  the  Duchies,  but  belonging  to  Oldenburgh.  There  is  nothing, 
however,  very  remarkable  about  it ;  it  being  only  the  usual  collec- 
tion of  red-roofed  houses,  with  a  modern  castle,  bearing  a  strong 
resemblance  to  one  of  our  factories.  The  town  and  the  province 
have  thrived  well  through  these  neighbor»g  wars ;  fof  they  escape 
entirely  the  burdens  which  press  upon  the  Duchies,  while  they  find 
a  far  readier  market  for  their  produce. 


A  POLITICAL   MEETING.  67 


I  took  up  my  quarters  at  once  in  the  best  inn — and  a  very  pleas- 
ant specimen  of  a  neat  German  inn,  it  was.  A  large,  handsomely- 
furnished  room  with  a  fire;  a  boy  kept  in  attendance;  my 
ineals  sent  up,  and  everything  arranged  in  the  most  com- 
fortable way — all,  as  I  afterwards  found,  at  the  price  of  87 1  cents  a 
day  ! 

I  spent  a  day  or  two  in  the  place,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  attend- 
ing, in  company  with  some  friends,  a  political  meeting,  summoned 
to  collect  subscriptions  for  Schleswig-Holstein.  I  was  quite  curious 
to  see  how  they  would  conduct  it.  When  I  entered,  the  speaker 
and  every  one  else,  from  the  "  Amtmann"  (county-magistrate)  down- 
wards, were  puffing  at  their  cigars.  The  principal  speaker  of  the ' 
day,  however,  denied  himself  this  universal  luxury ;  and,  apparently 
not  being  much  accustomed  to  extempore  speaking,  contented  him- 
self for  sometime,  with  reading  minutes  of  the  great  convention  at 
Hanover  for  the  Duchies,  as  well  as  various  spirited  appeals,  issued 
by  the  Assembly.  When  he  did  address  the  meeting,  it  was  in  a 
very  melancholy,  drowsy  tone,  which  would  have  been  utterly  irre- 
sistible to  the  heavy-looking  farmers  assembled,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  cigars.  However,  his  appeal  for  the  Holsteiners,  on  the  ground 
of  their  longings  for  a  share  in  the  "  German  Nationality,"  evidently 
found  an  .answer  in  the  breasts  of  very  many,  and  after  the  meeting, 
considerable  enthusiasm  was  shown  in  the  planning  for  collecting 
subscriptions. 

One  cannot  readily  imagine  in  America,  how  very  little  facility 
there  is  in  Germany  in  extempore  speaking.  I  was  talking  with  a 
German  lately  about  the  Peace  Congress  in  Frankfort,  and  I  hap- 
pened to  ask  him,  why  there  were  so  few  spe'akers  from  Germany 
there.  He  replied,  he  supposed  it  was  from  the  little  practice  the 
Germans  had  in  that  kind  of  speaking.  And  I  have  found  that 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


very  generally,  they  acknowledge  their  inferiority  in  it.  Yet  this 
nferiority  must  be  only  from  want  of  practice  ;  for  in  private,  I  have 
seldom  heard  men  speak  with  more  enthusiasm  and  readiness. 

My  time  in  Eutin,  in  spite  of  its  being  so  uninteresting  a  place, 
passed  very  pleasantly.  There  were  some  army  officers  stationed 
there,  and  very  social  and  intelligent  fellows  I  found  them.  I  know- 
not  how  to  express  my  pleasure,  the  more  I  see  of  Germany,  in  the 
social,  kindly  character  of  the  people.  It  seems  almost  as  if  the 
usual  selfishness  of  humanity  were  laid  aside  in  some  respects. 
When  you  ask  a  man  the  way  in  a  city,  half  the  time  he  will  go 
around  one  or  two  squares  to  show  you  it.  If  you  are  in  a  hotel  or 
any  public  place,  and  are  in  difficulty  about  your  route,  instead  of 
the  cold  "  its-none-of-my-business"  look  of  an  English  company,  you 
find  every  one  taking  an  interest  in  the  matter  and  ready  to  assist 
you.  People  do  not  shut  themselves  within  themselves,  as  in  our 
country  or  in  England  ;  and  when  a  party  meet  in  a  diligence  or 
boat,  they  are  ready  and  expect  to  talk  at  once,  and  not  seldom 
about  their  own  private  matters.  One  is  surprised  to  find  himself 
forming  confidential  friendships  with  acquaintances  not  twenty-four 
hours  old ;  and  as  he  looks  back  on  a  week,  he  wonders  whither 
the  caution  and  coldness  which  used  to  distinguish  him  have  de- 
parted. And  in  friendly  and  almost  patriarchal  hospitality,  the 
Germans,  thus  far,  seem  to  me  unequaled  over  the  world. 

From  Eutin,  we  took  the  night  diligence  northward  for  Kiel,  on 
the  Baltic.  There  were  four  or  five  travellers,  all  murBed  in  those 
huge  furs  which  I  have  never  seen  except  here,  waiting  in  the 
office  of  the  Eilwdgen.  They  wished  me  good  evening  as  I  entered 
—and  we  fell  at  once  into  pleasant  talk.  This  was  continued 
farther,  after  we  had  settled  each  into  a  comfortable  corner  of  the 
diligence— I  having  called  out  an  admiring  exclamation  of  praktisch  ! 


KIEL.  69 

(practical !)  by  shutting  up  my  hat  (a  spring  hat)  and  putting  it  in 
my  pocket,  and  drawing  on  a  warm  travelling  cap.  The  conversa- 
tion, as  everywhere,  was  of  War,  and  the  chances  for  little  Holstein. 
It  was  morning,  when  we  were  aroused  by  rattling  into  the  gates  of 
Kiel. 

Kiel  is  the  principal  port  and  city  of  the  Duchies,  with  a  Univer- 
sity which  has  been  somewhat  famous.  It  is  all  quiet  and  empty 
now,  however.  The  war  has  pressed  hard  upon  it.  Business  is 
nearly  at  stand-still ;  every  class  is  weighed  down  by  taxes,  and  the 
best  of  the  population  are  away  in  the  army.  The  University  is 
closed,  for  the  students  are  all  soldiers;  and  altogether  Kiel 
has  very  little  reason  to  wish  well  to  the  war  with  Denmark. 
Kiel,  I  met  with  Herr  Bargum,  the  President  of  the  Assembly 
of  the  States ;  a  man  of  great  power  as  a  speaker,  and  one  of  their 
prominent  statesmen.  He  kindly  gave  me  the  letters  required  to 
gain  admission  to  the  camps  around  Rendsburg.  Though  rny  opin- 
ion, before  expressed,  that  this  struggle  is  not  a  constitutional  struggle^ 
has  not  changed,  still  I  am  bound  to  say,  that  I  find  more  among 
the  party  of  the  Duchies  ready  for  constitutional  changes,  than  I 
had  expected.  They  argue  and  perhaps  justly,  that  the  great  mass 
of  the  common  people  in  the  Duchies  and  in  Germany,  are  not 
yet  ready  for  freedom  ;  that  universal  suffrage  or  a  complete  Re- 
public would  only  result  as  it  has  in  France ;  that  the  mass  must 
first  be  more  educated  ;  must  be  accustomed  more  in  small  matters 
to  self  government,  ere  it  will  be  safe  to  throw  the  interests  of  the 
country  entirely  into  their  hands.  Accordingly,  they  are  approach- 
ing this  general  freedom  gradually.  In  this  new  constitution  of 
Schleswig- Holstein,  the  Representative  Assembly  is  composed,  I 
think,  of  one  hundred  members.  Fifty  of  these  are  chosen  by  uni- 
versal suffrage ;  of  the  remainder  twenty  are  chosen  by  the  cities, 


70  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


twenty  by  the  landed  proprietors  of  a  certain  moderate  revenue,  and 
ten  by  the  great  proprietors,  having  a  somewhat  higher  revenue. 
Perhaps  in  view  of  the  existing  circumstances  of  the  country,  no 
better  arrangement  of  suffrage  could  be  devised.  It  is  due,  however, 
to  Denmark  to  say,  that  an  equally  liberal  Constitution  would  pro- 
bably have  been  allowed  the  Duchies,  if  they  had  been  united  to 
that  kingdom. 

In  travelling  from  Kiel  to  Rendsburg,  I  passed  through  the  mid- 
dle districts  of  Holstein — and  found  here  again,  the  wide  tracts  of 
level  land  which  are  the  characteristic  of  this  part  of  Europe.  But 
in  general,  they  were  far  less  fertile  in  appearance  and  less  cultivated, 
than  the  eastern  parts  of  this  province.  As  we  approached  Rends- 
burg, we  were  obliged  to  stop  in  one  of  the  neighboring  towns, 
through  some  Arrangement  of  the  trains.  Everywhere  the  signs 
again  of  approach  to  a  scene  of  war.  Officers  in  handsome  uniform 
filled  the  coffee-rooms ;  soldiers  with  well-worn,  weather-beaten 
arms  drinking  in  the  beer-houses,  and  a  band  of  Tyrol ese  Min- 
strels were  singing  with  great  spirit,  a  song  about  Schleswig-Holstein 
and  its  great  deeds,  to  the  air  of  the  "Marseillaise?  while  the  pa- 
triotic ditty  of  "  Schleswig-Holstein,  meerumschlungen  /"  (Schleswig- 
Holstein,  sea-surrounded  !)  rung  on  every  side.  It  was  certainly  not 
a  little  comical  to  see  on  the  walls — close  by  the  scene  of  the  opera- 
tions themselves — Panoramas  advertised  of  the  battles-  with  tho 
Danes,  Pictures  of  the  onslaught  at  "  Schleswig,"  and  of  the  terri- 
ble explosion  of  the  Danish  frigate  at  "  Ekernfiorde" — here  almost 
within  sound  of  the  cannon,  in  either  battle  ! 

Rendsburgh,  of  course,  is  under  martial  law.  My  pass  was  de- 
manded in  the  Station  House,  and  as  I  walked  up,  in  the  evening, 
towards  the  City  walls,  sentinels  met  me  every  few  rods,  and  I 
passed  through  a  guard  at  the  gate.  The  town  was  completely 


NEW    COMRADES.  7i 


filled  with  a  large  body  of  troops,  and  I  had  to  try  almost  every 
hotel  before  I  could  find  a  place.  At  length,  however,  I  chanced 
upon  a  hotel,  where,  the  waiter  said,  two  English  gentlemen  were 
quartered  who  might  be  willing  to  take  me  in.  I  was  shown  up  to 
their  rooms,  stated  my  case,  and  was  interrupted  almost  before  I 
had  begun,  by  their  saying,  at  once,  I  was  welcome  to  a  share  in 
their  quarters,  and  that  they  were  "right  glad  to  meet  any  one  who 
spoke  something  besides  this  d — d  Dutch  ! " 

Cigars  and  Bavarian  beer  were  brought  out,  as  I  would  drink 
nothing  stronger,  and  we  had  a  merry  evening  together.  I  found 
they  were  English  army  officers,  who  had  been  spending  the  sum- 
mer salmon-fishing  in  Norway,  of  which  they  related  marvellous 
stories  in  the  sporting  way.  They  had  come  here,  on  the  strength 
of  their  military  rank,  to  inspect  the  works. 

The  next  morning  I  presented  my  letters,  and  rambled  over  the 
town.  It  must  have  been  before  the  war  a  quiet  shady,  pleasant 
country  town,  now,  it  is  full  of  bjustle  and  noise.  Large  battalions 
of  soldiers  were  exercising  in  the  square ;  heavy  artillery  wagons 
thundering  along  the  pavement,  and  the  streets  were  crowded  with 
every  description  of  person  and  vehicle — dashing  young  officers  on 
gay  horses ;  peasants  with  baskets  of  vegetables  on  their  heads ; 
huge  market  wagons  with  provisions  for  the  troops ;  little  parties  of 
soldiers  with  the  smooth  helmets  running  up  to  a  spike  in  the  top  ; 
and  all  the  innumerable  characters  which  a  camp  attracts. 

Yet  both  that  day  and  the  next,  despite  the  numbers  crowded 
into  the  little  city,  I  saw  scarcely  any  outward  signs  of  dissipation — 
and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  many  of  the  worst  e^ils  of  war,  in 
the  ungovernable  crimes  it  engenders,  are  escaped  thus  far  in  this 
War  of  the  Duchies. 

One  of  my  acquaintances,  by  good  luck,  happened  to  be  a  soldier 


72  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


who  was  on  furlough  from  another  town,  and  he  walked  out  of  the 
gates  to  show  me  the  route  through  the  camps.  Here  again  I  had 
an  instance  of  this  German  "  Gatmuthigkeit?  (good  nature).  All 
that  I  had  expected,  at  the  most,  in  ray  acquaintance,  was  some 
good  advice  about  the  best  course  among  the  many  roads  around 
the  town.  But,  instead  of  that,  he  insisted  on  accompanying  me, 
guided  me  everywhere,  introduced  me  to  his  friends,  and  in  all  must 
have  walked  some  fifteen  or  eighteen  miles  with  me  that  day ! 

As  we  went  out  of  the  city,  the  first  thing  that  struck  the  eye 
was  the  flat,  unbroken  country  all  around  the  walls.  It  is  naturally 
a  plain,  and  now  every  high  tree  and  bush  and  hillock  is  "rasirt? 
(shaved  off )  as  they  say,  to  give  free  range  to  the  cannon.  About  the 
town  itself  there  are  two  ranges  of  solid  brick  and  turf  wall,  with  a 
wide  moat  before  each.  These  moats  are  supplied  with  water  from 
the  Eider,  and  are  used  as  canals.  Farther  on,  some  half  mile  from 
the  walls,  my  companion  pointed  me  out  a  range  of  "  Schanzen?  or 
forts,  on  various  heights  at  a  considerable  distance  from  one  another, 
encircling  the  city.  The  roads,  as  we  went  on,  became  worse  and 
worse,  from  the  heavy  travel  over  them,  and  we  were  met  constantly 
by  various  parties  hurrying  into  Rendsburgh ;  the  "  Dragoner"  splash- 
ing through  the  mud — the  infantry  officers  riding  in  the  large  basket- 
like  farm  wagons ;  and  the  privates,  with  the  short  sword  which 
they  all  wear,  working  their  way  like  ourselves  along  the  pavement. 
My  friend,  whose  eye  was  quicker  than  mine  in  detecting  distant 
military  movements,  would  occasionally  stop  to  show  me,  far  off  on 
the  heights,  some  black  mass,  which  only  from  its  motion  I  could 
discern  to  be  soldiers,  or  point  out  at  a  long  distance  on  the  plain, 
quick  moving  objects,  which  he  said  were  the  horse  artillery  in 
exercise. 

The  whole  country  was  evidently  filled  with  troops.    In  fact,  there 


MY    GUIDE.  73 


are  about  4,000  men  now  in  Rendsburgh,  and  some  10,000  in  the 
works  around  it.  We  walked  on  in  very  pleasant  conversation  for 
some  distance.  Though  a  private  soldier,  this  man  was  a  highly 
educated  person  ;  had  been  a  student  in  Kiel,  when  the  war  broke 
out,  and  having  some  influence  in  his  native  town,  he  had  collected  a 
company  of  recruits  and  joined  the  army.  It  must  have  been  almost 
entirely  from  motives  of  patriotism,  for  he  knew  that,  like  the  rest, 
he  must  go  through  his  term  of  service  as  a  private.  He  was  evi- 
dently sick  of  the  life  of  a  common  soldier,  though  he  was  too  manly 
to  complain.  I  saw  that  all  the  officers  treated  him  in  a  very  equal 
manner — and  he  says  that  all  distinctions  of  rank  among  them, 
when  not  on  duty,  are  very  nearly  lost.  In  him,  and  the  many  I 
saw,  I  was  struck  with  the  quiet  determination  manifested,  to  push 
the  contest  through.  They  all  say,  that  the  German  recruits  are 
rather  chilled  at  the  little  high  enthusiasm  they  find  when  they  come 
on ;  they  cannot  understand  the  calm,  settled  resolve  which  the 
army  feels. 

The  first  encampment  we  found  in  a  small  village  of  Bauer- 
houses.  The  soldiers  are  quartered  with  the  peasants.  My  friend, 
or  the  "  Doctor,"  as  they  call  him,  had  an  acquaintance  here,  and 
we  stopped  at  one  of  the  houses  to  see  him.  He  was  a  lieutenant, 
and  occupied  with  his  "  Sub,"  one  part  of  the  house,  while  the 
farmer  and  his  wife,  and  three  cows  and  some  horses,  lived  in  the 
other.  He  had  been  a  student,  as  well  as  his  under-officer,  and  they 
received  my  companion  most  cordially.  A  huge  mass  of  roast  beef 
and  potatoes  was  soon  brought  on,  and  without  apology  from  them 
or  us,  we  fell  to  most  heartily  ;  and  lighting  our  cigars,  we  talked 
for  a  long  time  over  the  comparative  merits  of  the  American  and 
Holstein  equipments,  and  the  general  ills  and  jovialities  of  a  soldier's 
life.  They  are  all  tirsd  enough  of  the  war,  but  they  are  fully  con- 
4 


74  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


fident  they  can  beat  the  Danes.  In  fact,  they  have  some  reason  to 
be  confident ;  it  is  long  since  the  Danes  have  ventured  to  meet  them 
in  open  field.  After  passing  through  this  encampment,  I  went  in 
company  with  this  officer  and  the  "  Doctor,"  on  towards  the  outer 
works  of  the  line,  which  has  thus  far  been  the  separation  between 
the  Danish  and  Holstein  armies. 

If  any  one  will  look  at  the  map,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  boundary 
line  between  the 'Duchy  of  Holstein  and  Schleswig  is  the  River 
Eider,  and  a  Canal,  connecting  it  with  the  Baltic.  On  this  river  is 
Rendsburgh,  and  it  may  be  considered,  for  some  distance  at  least, 
as  the  base  line  of  the  position  of  the  Holstein  army.  The  works 
around  Rendsburgh,  the  centre  of  this  line,  reach  some  twenty  miles, 
forming  a  very  strong  position.  Where  we  were,  on  a  high  hill  a 
short  distance  within  the  outer  line,  we  had  a  fine  view  of  it  all.  On 
the  right,  stretched  away  a  beautiful  lake,  fringed  with  the  bright 
colored  woods.  This,  together  with  the  Eider,  formed  the  great 
cover  of  the  right  wing,  though  between  it  and  the  Eider,  strong 
works  had  been  thrown  up.  In  front,  was  a  smaller  lake,  so  that 
any  attack  must  be  made  either  between  these  two  lakes,  or  upon 
the  left.  The  ground  between  them  was  well  defended  by  "  Schan- 
zen"  with  palisades  and  deep  ditches,  perhaps  the  strongest  works 
on  the  line  ;  while  the  left  part  of  the  centre  was  secured  naturally 
by  a  series  of  rocky  heights,  on  all  which,  fortifications  with  bomb- 
proof block  houses  and  the  usual  appurtenances. had  been  placed. 
Far  away  on  the  left,  could  be  seen  the  reflection  of  water,  which 
was  the  overflowing  of  a  branch  of  the  Eider,  and  which,  along  with 
that  river,  effectually  secured  their  left  wing  from  attack. ..,  On  all 
the  fortified  heights  I  observed  telegraph  poles,  with  arrangements 
for  communicating  at  once  to  head  quarters,  the  news  of  attack, 
either  by  day  or  night.  These  heights  could  be  seen  rising  at  vari- 


THE    OUT-WORKS. 


ous  intervals  through  all  the  country,  between  the  outer  lines  and 
the  city.  On  the  whole,  it  seemed  a  very  strong  position,  not  easily 
to  be  turned  by  the  Danes,  even  if  they  felt  disposed  to  attempt  it, 
which  they  appear  very  far  from  doing. 

The  Danes  themselves  occupy  a  line  reaching  from  Ekernfiorde  on 
their  left,  to  Fried richstadt  on  the  right,  having  Schleswig  for  the 
centre.  The  last  attack  had  been  made  by  the  Holsteiners  on  the 
right  on  Friedrichstadt ;  and  before  that,  on  the  left,  so  that  many 
expected  the  next  attempt  to  force  their  position,  in  the  centre,  on 
Schleswig.  The  probability  is,  that  the  Holstein  General,  Von 
Willisen,  is  waiting  now  for  more  recruits,  which  come  in  constantly 
from  Germany,  as  well  as  for  the  approach  of  winter,  which  will 
give  an  opportunity  to  force  the  position  of  the  Danes,  where  they 
are  defended  by  the  inundations.  Though  for  my  part.,  I  do  not  see 
why  .this  last  would  not  be  an  advantage  to  one  side  as  well  as  the 
other.  The  Danes  would  at  least  be  cut  off  from  the  aid  of  their 
ships  by  the  winter,  which  would  be  a  great  disadvantage  to  them.  I 
notice  the  English  papers  dwell  much  on  the  sacred  regard  for  trea- 
ties, apparent  in  the  conduct  of  the  Danish  monarch,  in  thus  carefully 
keeping  himself  within  the  boundaries  of  his  ancestral  duchy.  Any 
one,  however,  who  examines  the  position  of  the  Holstein  line  may 
find  some  other  fully  as  influential,  though  not  quite  so  flattering, 
motives  for  this  great  self  restraint. 

The  country,  which  stretched  out  on  all  sides  around  the  hill 
where  we  were,  was  singularly  mild  and  peaceful  in  its  aspect.  The 
flat,  barren  land  around  the  city,  had  changed  into  a  fertile  and 
gently  undulating  country,  with  clumps  of  trees  scattered  over  it, 
with  that  soft  and  pleasant  outline,  which  everything  wears  under 
the  autumn  sunlight.  The  fortifications  seemed  only  like  fresh 
mounds  in  the  distance,  and  the  peasants  were  ploughing  or  sowing 


76  «      SOCIAL   LIFE  IN   GERMANY 


their  barley,  right  under  the  mouths  of  the  cannon.  Before  'is  lay 
the  lakes  with  hardly  a  ripple  on  their  surface,  and  far  away, 
gleamed  peacefully  in  the  light,  the  waters  of  a  branch  of  the 
Eider.  It  was  not  at  all  a  scene  of  blood.  It  was  difficult  to 
realize,  as  one  looked  at  it  all,  that  it  had  so  lately  been  trampled 
and  stained  in  fierce  fight.  As  I  looked  closer  down,  however,  at 
the  calm  scene  before  us,  I  could  gradually  discern  a  long  black 
line,  moving  through  the  valley,  which  soon  resolved  itself  into 
smaller  lines ;  then  in  front  of  us  a  dark  object  could  be  seen,  mov- 
ing towards  the  small  lake,  and  extending  itself  into  a  line,  and  ei\ 
the  heights  similar  objects  were  stirring;  and  it  needed  no  longer 
observation  to  ascertain  that  this  whole  "  peaceful''  country  was 
filled  with  heavy  masses  of  troops. 

As  we  went  down  from  the  hill,  we  passed  through  a  valley  where 
there  had  been  lately  a  battle  with  the  Danes,  and  the  blackened 
ruins  of  a  farm  house  showed  its  effects.  As  we  passed  through 
the  next  range  of  fortifications,  one  of  the  Bauer  houses  appeared 
almost  entirely  surrounded  by  a  "  Schanze,"  (fort)  and  the  chickens 
and  sparrows  were  flying  about  among  the  cannon  and  breast- 
works. 

The  next  encampment  we  visited,  was  far  less  comfortable  than 
those  nearer  the  city,  the  quarters  being  mud  and  log  huts,  with  no 
flooring  except  straw.  My  companions  had  some  acquaintance 
here,  and  we  went  into  one  of  the  huis.  We  found  four  officers 
quartered  there,  evidently  doing  their  best  to  make  their  hard  life  a 
jovial  one.  They  welcomed  us  very  heartily;  coffee  and  cigars 
were,  produced,  and  we  talked  over  the  rough  table  for  a  long-time. 
They  had  all  been  students  ;  one  was  a  student  of  ftleology ;  and 
damp  and  cold  as  the  low  hut  was,  they  managed  to  get  a  great 
deal  of  fun  o  ut  of  their  wild  life.  Still,  they  and  the  privates  have 


THE    RETURN.  *  77 


suffered  much  from  the  wet  cold  weather  of  late,  and  I  should  think 
were  heartily  tired  of  the  war,  though  they  may  all  be  determined 
not  'to  yield,  in  the  contest.  Very  naturally  their  dislike  to  the 
Danes  has  not  at  all  decreased  by  this  two  years  fighting 

We  returned  at  night,  and  the  heavy  rumbling  of  cannon  and 
the  creak  of  wagons,  sounded  incessantly  on  the  main  road  from  the 
gates.  It  was  the  preparation  for  a  night  attack,  expected  from  the 
Danes.  I  found  on  my  return,  the  English  officers  still  in  the  hotel. 
They  had  been  treated  very  politely  by  the  General — as  the  English 
are  now — and  had  seen  all  the  works,  and  though  military  men  are 
rather  critical  in  such  matters,  professed  themselves  entirely 
satisfied. 

Thus  ended  my  day  in  the  Holstein  camp  ;  a  passing  glimpse  into 
the  interior  of  that  struggle  which  has  so  agitated  the  North  of 
Europe,  and  whose  heart-burnings  and  bitter  animosities,  yet  surviv- 
ing, shall  burst  forth  fearfully  in  another  convulsion  of  Europe. 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 

THE   DIFFICULTIES    BETWEEN    DENMARK    AND    THE    DUCHIES. 

IT  is  now  about  six  years  since  a  member  of  the  Danish  "  Assem- 
bly,*' then  in  session  at  Roeskilde,  rose  with  the  following  motion : 
that  "  The  States'  Assembly  propose  that  the  King  should  solemnly 
declare  Denmark,  Schleswig-Holstein  and  Lauenburg  a  single  indi- 
visible kingdom,  and  that  this  indivisible  kingdom,  according  to  the 
Danish  crown-law,  should  become  the  inheritance  of  the  female  pos- 
terity of  Frederick  III." 

From  this  motion  we  may  date  the  commencement  of  the  pre- 
sent troubles  between  the  Duchies  and  Denmark.  It  is  true, 
before  this  time,  since  the  year  1808  and  the  accession  of  Frederick 
VI.  to  the  throne,  Denmark  had  been  accused  of  constantly 
encroaching  on  the  Duchies,  both  in  introducing  the  Danish  lan- 
guage and  in  converting  State-institutions  into  National ;  and  a 
tendency  to  separation  from  the  Danish  crown  had  been  given  by 
the  fact  of  Holstein's  being  included  in  the  German  confederacy. 
Still  no  very  decided  manifestations  were  made  till  this  motion  was 
put  forward.  The  effect  of  it  was  stirring.  Addresses  poured  in 
from  every  part  of  the  Duchies  to  the  "States,"  the.n  meeting  at 
Itsehoe,  and  a  "  Bill  of  Rights"  was  at  once  prepared  by  them,  and 
sent  tp  the  king,  containing  the  three  great  Articles,  which  lie,  as 


THE    OPEN    LETTER."  79 


they  claim,  at  the  basis  of   their  political  rights,   and  to  support 
which,  they  have  entered  on  this  bloody  war. 

I.  That  the  Duchies  are  Independent  States. 
II.  That  the  male  line  rules  in  the  Duchies. 

III.  That  the  Duchies, \Schleswig  and  Holstein,  are  States  united 
to  one  another. 

From  this  time  till  the  year  1846,  there  was  no  open  hostility, 
except  in  the  press,  between  the  two  parties,  when  there  appeared 
what  is  called  "  The  Open  Letter"  of  the  King  of  Denmark.  As 
this  is  much  referred  to,  in  this  dispute,  and,  in  some  degree,  will 
determine  the  justice  of  the  Holstein  cause,  it  may  be  well  to 
mention  particularly  some  of  the  positions  taken  in  it. 

The  Letter  is  addressed  to  his  subjects,  and  after  some  preliminary 
remarks,  the  king  states  that  he  had  placed  this  whole  question  of 
the  Inheritance  of  the  Duchies  in  the  hands  of  an  able  committee, 
and  that  after  a  deliberate  investigation,  they  had  reported  that  the 
Duchy  of  Schleswig  comes  under  the  same  law  of  inheritance  by 
which  the  kingdom  of  Denmark  is  governed.  But,  that  in  regard 
to  the  Duchy  of  Holstein,  there  were  certain  parts  where  doubts 
existed  as  to  their  being  included  under  the  Danish  law,  and  in  con- 
sequence being  necessarily  assured  to  the  loyal  line.  Yet,  the  king 
continues,  every  effort  will  be  given  to  do  away  with  these  objec- 
tions, and  to  preserve  the  unity  of  the  Danish  State,  and  to  unite 
under  one  sceptre,  all  these  various  divisions  of  the  country,  in  such  a 
manner  that  they  shall  never  be-  separated.  And  he  assures  the 
people  of  Schleswig  that  in  thus  uniting  that  State  with  the 
Danish  monarchy,  it  is  not  in  the  least  his  intention  to  encroach 
upon  its  independence,  or  to  produce  the  slightest  change  in  its 
close  relations  with  the  Duchy  of  Holstein. 

There  were  not  a  few  things  in  this  letter  which  would  naturally 


80 


SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


be  exceedingly  disagreeable  and  even  alarming,  to  the  people  of  tho 
Duchies.  In  the  first  place,  there  appears  to  be  in  it  a  recognizing 
of  the  independence  of  the  Duchies,  as  a  matter  of  favor,  while 
they  had  always  claimed  that  their  independence  did  not  in  the 
least  depend  on  the  will  of  their  ruler.  '  Then  again,  the  laws  of 
inheritance,  which  had  always  governed  them,  as  they  viewed  it, 
were  by  this  entirely  annulled,  and  they  were  placed  under  a  foreign 
law,  and  therefore  under  a  foreign  race.  While  the  old  laws,  estab- 
lished by  their  fathers,  were  in  force,  they  would  fairly  and  justly 
abide  by  them,  and  remain  connected  with  a  foreign  State  ;  but 
when,  in  the  natural  course  of  events,  these  had  become  abrogated, 
they  "  wished  under  their  own  Dukes,  to  join  in  the  movement  for 
the  unity  of  the  great  German  Fatherland." 

Beside  this,  the  position  taken  by  the  King,  that  Holstein  was  not 
included  under  the  same  laws  with  Schleswig,  seemed  like  an  attempt 
to  separate  those  two  States, — a  measure,  which  would  be  very 
alarming  to  all  those  in  both,  who  believed  that  the  prosperity  and 
independence  of  the  two  Duchies  depended  on  their  union.  Still 
less  was  the  expression  approved  of,  in  which  the  King  spoke  of 
"preserving  the  unity  of  the  Danish  State," — and  of  bringing  under 
one  government  all  these  divisions  of  the  country,  (Landesthelle.) 

This  letter  and  the  "  Remonstrances"  succeeding  it,  were  followed 
by  an  extended  war  of  "  Petitions,"  on  the  people's  part,  and  "  De- 
clarations" on  the  king's,  until  it  was  finally  made  known  publicly, 
that  the  king  would  receive  no  more  bills  or  petitions  from  "  The 
States,"  on  the  subject  of  the  Laws  of  Inheritance.  Many  of  these 
"  Declarations  "  and  "  bills"  are  written  with  great  eloquence,  and 
show  a  people  thoroughly  aroused  in  the  contest.  Th«y  are  inter- 
esting, many  of  them,  from  the  great  similarity  in  tone  with  those 
pf  our  revolutionary  patriots.  The  same  elaborate  respect  to  royal 


THE    CONSTITUTION.  81 


authority,  while  they  are  busily  engaged  in  undermining  it ;  the 
same  charitable  -assumption,  that  it  is  the  ministers  who  are  thus  con- 
spiring against  a  loyal  people,  and  that  the  king  is  only  an  unhappy 
tool.  There  are  respects,  however,  in  which  they  are  widely  differ- 
ent from  the  documents  of  our  Revolutionary  days,  as  I  shall  show 
afterwards.  To  the  political  student,  these  papers  are  interesting ; 
they  are  not  necessary  to  an  understanding  of  the  question  now  at 
issue. 

After  these  "  Declarations,"  came  spirited  appeals  to  the  German 
Fatherland,  which  was  now  becoming  deeply  interested  in  the  dis- 
pute. Even  the  "  German  League,"  or  Bund,  put  forth  a  resolution 
favoring  the  cause  of  the  Duchies ;  so  that  the  result  was  another 
letter  from  the  king,  assuring  the  disaffected  States  of  their  inde- 
pendence and  of  his  desire  to  preserve  them  in  union.  At  this 
point,  in  the  year  1848,  affaii-s  were  changed  somewhat  by  the 
death  of  the  King,  and  by  the  accession  to  the  throne  of  his  suc- 
cessor, Frederick  VII. 

The  first  efforts  of  the  new  king  were  to  pacify  his  subjects  by 
the  grant  of  that  panacea  for  all  evils — a  "  Constitution,"  to  the 
whole  kingdom.  By  this  Constitution  there  was  to  be  a  "  General 
Assembly  "  of  the  representatives  both  pf  Denmark  and  the  Duchies, 
meeting  alternately  in  the  different  countries  ;  with  such  powers  as 
would  enable  them  to  legislate  on  the  various  changes  necessary  in. 
finance  and  other  matters,  throughout  the  kingdom  ;  and  it  was 
assured  that,  by  this  new  "  Assembly,"  nothing  would  be  changed 
of  those  laws  which  granted  the  meeting  of  provincial  "  States"  ot 
"  Chambers"  (Stande),  or  which  secured  the  other  right  before  men- 
tioned, of  the  Duchies. 

In  addition  to  this,  'the  king  proposed  a  law  for  lightening  the 
extremely  strict  supervision  of  the  press,  which  had  before  existed 


SOCIAL    LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


in  Holstein— and  for  entirely  doing  away  in  some  cases  with  the 
censorship.  None  of  these  conciliatory  measures  appear  to  have 
given  satisfaction ;  and  a  very  bold  address  was  presented  from  Al 
tona,  demanding  (1),  the  entire  freedom  of  the  press ;  (2),  the  free- 
dom of  holding  any  kind  of  meetings  desired  ;  and  (3),  the  privilege 
of  forming  a  citizen  militia. 

To  this  was  added  a  demand  for  a  new  Constitution  for  the  Duchies 
based  on  the  freest  democratic  principle ;  the  responsibility  of  the 
minister  to  their  Assembly  ;  the  power  of  sending  representatives  to 
the  German  Confederacy  ;  and  the  formation  of  new  courts,  on  the 
principle  of  Jury  Courts — (Geschwornen  yerichte.) 

Similar  addresses — or  addresses  revolutionary  in  character — were 
presented  by  the  higher  classes,  the  prelates  and  nobles,  as  well  as 
by  the  citizens.  And  it  was  apparent  that  the  hostility  to  the  gov- 
ernment was  very  deep  and  wide  spread.  The  first  open  outbreak 
occurred  on  the  24th  of  March,  1848,  in  Kiel,  when  the  news  ar- 
rived of  the  formation  in  Copenhagen  of  an  ultra  Danish  ministry, 
and  of  the  probability  of  their  endeavoring  to  incorporate  the  Duchies 
by  arms,  in  the  Danish  kingdom.  A  provisional  government  was  at 
once  formed  in  Kiel,  the  military  enrolled — and  the  Duchies  were 
proclaimed  free,  independent  States.  Movements  of  the  same  kind 
commenced  throughout  the  two  provinces,  more  especially  in  Hoi- 
stein,  which  is  more  decidedly  German  in  its  character,  and  addresses 
were  made  to  the  throne,  containing  the  same  demands  as  those 
mentioned  above.  A  letter  appeared,  too,  of  the  King  of  Prussia, 
supporting  these  demands,  at  least  as  far  as  the  independence  and 
union  of  the  Duehies  was  concerned. 

This  was  the  day  of  Revolutions,  when  the  old  monarchies  of 
Europe  threatened  all  to  be  swept  away  by  the  storm.  The  king 
wisely  bowed  to  it,  and  in  an  answer  to  a  Deputation  of  the 


THE    RESULTS.  .#> 

States,  he  said  that,  in  view  of  all  these  circumstances,  it  was  his 
intention  to  grant  to  Ilolstein,  as  an  independent  member  of  tho 
German  Confederacy,  a  Constitution  based  on  the  most  libera"!  prin- 
ciples of  suffrage  ;  that  he  was  ready  to  secure  with  this,  the  right 
of  the  freedom  of  the  press,  and  the  full  power  of  forming  a  citizen 
militia ;  and  that  this  province  should,  as  soon  as  circumstances 
would  allow,  have  its  own  separate  finance.  He  should  not  be  un- 
favorable, besides,  to  the  formation  of  a  powerful  German  parlia- 
ment, representing  the  people,  so  much  desired.  But  in  regard  to 
Schleswig,  it  was  his  duty  to  say,  that  he  "  had  neither  the  right, 
nor  the  power,  nor  the  will,  to  incorporate  it  in  the  German  Con- 
federacy." But,  by  a  free  constitution,  and  at  the  same  time,  by 
preserving  its  provincial  institutions,  he  was  resolved  to  attach  it, 
unimpaired  in  its  independence,  to  the  Danish  monarchy. 

This  is  the  last  public  document  containing  a  statement  of  the 
points  at  issue,  and  may  be  considered  as  presenting  the  policy 
against  which  the  Duchies  are  now  contending.  Many  "Addresses" 
and  "  Proclamations"  follow  on  both  sides,  which,  though  eloquent, 
throw  no  light  on  the  question. 

This  answer  of  the  king  was  made  in  March,  184S.  In  the  fol- 
vowing  April,  hostilities  were  in  full  progress.  The  events  succeed- 
ing this,  for  the  last  two  years,  need  not  be  related,  though  they 
will  be  interesting  topics  for  history.  The  struggle  of  the  Duchies 
with  the  crown ;  the  marching  in  of  the  Prussian  troops,  and  tho 
terror  they  everywhere  inspired  to  the  Danes  ;  the  annoyance  caused 
to  Prussia  by  the  blockade  of  her  Baltic  provinces,  and  the  disa- 
greements between  her  troops  and  their  allies,  all  resulting  finally  in 
her  leaving  the  Provinces  to  fight  out  the  contest  themselves — im- 
portant events,  but  not  especially  affecting  the  merits  of  the  con- 
test, on  one  side  or  the  other. 


84  SOCIAL  LI*E  IN   GERMANY." 


The  great  powers  of  Europe  have  taken  a  very  deep  interest  in 
this  war — much  greater  than  its  importance  would  seem  to  claim. 
And,  perhaps  to  their  own  surprise,  England,  and  France,  and  Rus- 
sia, find  themselves  side  by  side  in  the  support  of  a  constitutional 
monarch,  contending  with  his  subjects ;  while  the  German  people 
are  glowing  with  an  ardor  we  can  hardly  even  imagine,  to  throw 
themselves  into  the  struggle  of  their  "  brothers  "  with  a  foreign 
race ;  a  race  united  with  that  Nation  whose  mighty  power  is  already 
overshadowing  their  Eastern  provinces.  In  regard  to  the  English 
position  in  this  contest,  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  determine  exactly  its 
causes.  Perhaps  the  ministry  have  considered  that  the  entry  to  the 
Baltic  would  be  much  safer  to  the  English,  under  the  guard  of  a 
weak  nation — their  ally — than  if  placed  in  the  power  of  the  great 
German  Confederacy, — arid  the  old  commercial  jealousy  may  have 
concurred  in  depressing  any  efforts  of  Germany  to  make  herself  a 
maritime  power.  Then,  if  we  come  to  minor  causes,  "  The  Times" 
may  have  happened  to  take  that  position  and  thus  led  the  English 
mind  ;  or  that  old  English  generosity  may  have  arisen,  at  the  sight 
of  the  pluck  of  the  little  Denmark  against  her  formidable  adversary, 
Prussia ;  or  to  come  to  the  last  reason,  usual  in  such  cases,  the  Eng- 
lish government  may  have  believed  Denmark  right  in  her  position 
towards  the  Duchies.  Still,  so  far  as  I  had  an  opportunity  to  ob- 
serve in  England,  there  was  very  little  understanding  of  the  question, 
among  either  the  people  or  the  press. 

Russia's  course  in  the  matter  is  very  natural  and  very  easily  ex- 
plained. It  can  never  be  for  her  interest,  that  any  of  the  great  rival 
powers— especially  Germany— should  hold  the  keys  of  the  Baltic, 
and-  it  is  not  improbable,  as  is  frequently  hinted,  that  som«  foot-hold 
in  that  part  of  the  Northern  seas  may  be  the  reward  for  the  coun- 


UNITY   WANTED.  85 


tenance,  and,  very  probably,  the  more  substantial  aid,  given  to  the 
kingdom  of  Denmark. 

The  statement  which  I  have  made  of  the  various  difficulties  and 
disputes  between  the  Duchies  and  Denmark  for  the  last  six  years,  1 
conceive  to  be  a  fair  one,  and  certainly  as  favorable  to  those  pro- 
-vinces  as  truth  would  allow.  It  has  been  gathered  mostly  from 
their  own  documents,  and  from  conversation  with  men  of  their  own 
party.  When  I  came  here,  I  supposed,  in  common  with  many  of 
the  liberal  party  in  England,  that  this  whole  contest  was  a  constitu- 
tional contest — a  struggle  of  a  free  oppressed  people  for  their 
rights,  and  for  more  liberal  institutions.  I  found,  that  so  it  was  re- 
garded here  by  many,  and  I  have  been,  not  a  few  times,  reminded 
by  Germans  of  its  great  similarity  to  our  own  struggle  for  Inde- 
pendence. But,  the  more  I  examine  it,  the  more  I  am  inclined  to 
the  opinion,  that  it  is  not  a  constitutional  contest  at  all. 

The  Holsteiners  have  as  great  a  dread  of  "  democratic  pro- 
gress" as  the  Danes.  I  know  that  German  democrats  and  Hun- 
garians are  often  refused  admission  into  their  ranks,  that  the  institu- 
tions which  they  now  uphold  in  their  own  provinces,  are  not  as  free 
as  exist  in  Denmark.  And  it  is  only  within  a  few  days,  I  heard  of 
men,  still  confined  in  the  prisons  of  Altona  by  the  Provincial  Gov- 
ernment, for  libelling  that  king  whom  they  have  been  so  fiercely 
combating.  In  connection  with  this,  should  be  noticed  one  of  the 
inducements  for  making  peace,  presented  by  the  members  of  the 
Peace  Convention  lately  to  the  Danish  Government,  namely,  that 
"  a  peace  would  release  them  from  their  obligations  to  foreign 
diplomacy,  and  give  them  an  opportunity  to  develope  their 
free  institutions."  Is  this  an  inducement  to  be  presented  to  a 
very  conservative  government. 

It  is  to  be  observed  in  the  history  of  this  contest,  that  the  hos- 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GL.^ANY. 


tility  does  not  ,begin  as  in  our  Revolution,  in  a  complaint  of  oppres- 
sion and  a  demand  lor  justice  and  freer  institutions.  It  is  only  that 
these  Duchies  should  be  restored  to  that  intensely  loved  but  most 
mysterious  and  intangible  Union — the  German  Fatherland ;  and 
that  they  should  no  longer  exist  as  parts  of  a  "foreign  State  /"  in 
connection  with  which,  it  may  be  remarked,  they  had  been  for 
generations.  It  is  not  constitutions,  nor  better  institutions,  nor  freer 
government  which  they  want.  Their  forefathers  had  once  formed  a 
part  of  the  glorious  Fatherland,  and  this  is  enough  !  They  must 
be  members  of  that  dazzling,  incomprehensible  Fraternity  !  Per- 
haps it  is  one-sided  in  me,  but  I  must  confess,  I  cannot  but  look 
upon  these  bloody  struggles  for  such  a  visionary,  impractical  idea, 
as  most  foolish.  It  certainly  is  something  as  if  the  Celtic  Race  in 
all  parts  of  the  world  should  shake  off  the  governments  over  them  ; 
fight  and  bleed,  that  they  might  carry  out  the  beautiful  idea  of  one 
great  Irish  or  Gaelic  or  Celtic  Fatherland !  I  do  not  mean  that  the 
analogy  holds  in  all  respects.  But  this  struggle  for  "  German 
Unity"  has  something  of  that  appearance  to  the  uninitiated 
stranger. 

Since  the  Revolutions  of  Europe  began,  (in  1848),  one  must 
allow  that  the  -insurgents  have  made  truly  constitutional  demands 
on  the  Danish  Government.  But  those  demands  will  not  be  found 
in  their  official  documents  the  great  matters  insisted  on,  and  they 
do  not  seem  the  great  points  at  issue.  Besides,  when  the  king  does 
yield  his  full  consent  to* all  these,  and  still  preserves  his  position  in 
regard  to  the  union  of  Schleswig  to  Denmark,  there  does  not 
appear  the  least  change  in  the  feelings  of  the  provinces.  They  are 
determined  to  be  members  of  the  Fatherland,  and  any-other  propo- 
sition is  odious  to  them.  And  for  my  part,  I  fully  believe,  that  if 
German  sympathy  and  German  aid  do  at  length  give  the  victory  to 


NOT   LIBERTY.  87 


these  insurgent  provinces,  it  will  be  seen  to  be  no  triumph  of  the 
liberal  cause,  and,  that  the  institutions  which  the  Duchies  will  form 
for  themselves,  will  not  equal  in  freedom  those  they  might  have  had 
under  the  Danish  Government. 

Of  the  sad  and  gloomy  close  of  this  struggle,  and  of  the  prostra- 
tion of  the  Duchies  under  the  iron  rule  of  Austria — events  which 
occurred  in  the  succeeding  year — I  shall  have  more  to  say  in 
another  portion  of  this  volume. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HAMBURG  AND  THE  RAUHE  HAUS. 

I  WAS  walking  out  one  morning,  after  my  return  to  Hamburg, 
to  call  upo.n  my  friend,  the  artist  before  mentioned,  when  I  came 
suddenly  on  a  sight  rather  remarkable  in  such  a  nineteenth-century 
city  as  this.  A.  procession  of  Spanish  cavaliers,  apparently,  was 
passing  through  the  streets ;  just  the  same  dark -haired  men,  with 
peaked  sombreros,  stiff  white  ruffs,  short  black  cloaks  and  swords, 
as  Velasquez  or  Rembrandt  delighted  to  paint.  They  were  follow- 
ing a  coffin.  It  almost  seemed  as  if  I  were  looking  at  some  touch- 
ing tragedy  among  the  exiled  hidalgos  of  Spain. 

My  friend  laughed  when  I  told  him  my  conceit,  and 
assured  me  that  the  tragedy  was  all  on  the  other  side — as  the 
family  of  every  respectable  Hamburger  who  died,  had  to  pay  ten 
dollars  apiece  for  each  of  those  hidalgos — and  funerals  frequently 
cost  now  some  two  hundred  Thaler,  ($150),  much  to  the  trou- 
ble of  the  afflicted  families. 

This  gentleman  was  thinking  much  of  emigrating  to  America. 
"  Europe  was  no  place  for  art  for  years  to  come.  All  Germany  and 
the  Continent  might  be  in  the  full  blaze  of  revolution,  in  a  month, 
at  any  time.  And  now,"  said  he.  "  in  such  disturbed  times, 


FREE    TRADE.  89 


there  are  few  purchasers.  Besides  Hamburg  is  far  too  material  a 
city  for  the  encouragement  of  such  a  profession.  People  are  weal- 
thy and  benevolent  here,  but  there  is  no  great  inclination  for  these 
pursuits."  It  was  too  much  a  commercial  city,  he  thought, 
and  was  inferior  in  intellectual  tastes  to  most  of  the  cities  of 
Germany. 

Like  all  who  have  studied  the  history  of  Hamburg,  this  gentle- 
man considered  its  prosperity  due  to  its  long  and  steady  adherence 
to  Free  Trade. 

The  success  of  this  city  alone,  however,  would  be  no  test  of  the 
Protective  question,  as  it  is  peculiarly  a  commercial  Republic,  and 
can  have  no  great  variety  of  interests  to  support.  Still,  it  is  a  fact 
that  the  four  cities  in  the  Hanseatic  League,  Hamburg,  Bremen, 
Liibeck,  and  Frankfort,  did  from  the  beginning  adopt  a  most  liberal 
Protective  system,  and  that  of  all  the  cities  of  Germany,  these  have 
been  the  most  prosperous. 

"If  Germany  ever  should  become  one  united  country,"  said  this 
gentleman  ;  "  for  which  I  most  devoutly  pray,  Hamburg  would  be 
the  most  important  point  of  all  North  Germany.  It  would  be  the 
outlet  for  all  our  commerce  and  naval  enterprise.  There  is  no  situ- 
ation like  it.  Here  on  one  of  the  greatest  rivers  of  Germany  — 
connected  by  rail-roads  with  Prussia,  Saxony,  Austria,  and  Hanover; 
and  with  an  excellent  harbor,  what  might  we  not  expect  for  it  ?" 

This  conversation  and  others  of  the  same  kind  led  me  to  examine 
more  the  commercial  position  of  the  city 

The  great  currents  of  commerce  on  which  Hamburg  reached  such 
prosperity  have  left  it,  and  it  is  hardly  probable*  that  the  days  can 
come  again  when  its  fleets  shall  struggle  equally,  as  once,  even  with 
those  of  Denmark.  Within  the  last  few  years,  however,  its  business 
and  commerce  have  been  steadily  advancing  ;  and  especially  since  the 


90  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


raising  of  the  Danish  Armistice,  (August,  1849),  there  has  been  a 
remarkable  activity  developed  in  the  city.  The  number  of,  vessels 
arriving  at  the  port  in  1849,  is  given  at  3,459  ;  of  those  sailing,' 3,4 16. 
In  1850,  the  ships  owned  in  the  city  are  reckoned  at  277,  and  tho 
steam-ships,  9,  with  a  tonnage  of  82,053.  The  population  of  the 
city  and  its  territory  is  188,054.  Naturally,  with  such  capabilities 
of  a  great  commercial  growth,  the  inhabitants  desire  a  free  con- 
nection with  the  rest  of  Germany.  Hamburg  was  one  of  the  Ger- 
man States  which  urged  vigorously  a  union  of  Germany  in  the 
Assembly,  at  Frankfort,  in  1848,  and  which  refused  to  recognise  tho 
old  Diet  established  by  Austria,  in  1850.  It  sent,  likewise,  deputies 
to  the  Parliament  assembled  in  1850,  by  Prussia,  at  Erfurt,  in  her 
attempt  to  get  up  another  "Union."  Still,  I  gathered  everywhere, 
the  hope  was  that  the  United  Germany  would  be  a  Free-Trade  Ger- 
many, as  the  citizens  are  entirely  convinced  that  the  Austrian  Pro- 
tective system  would  ruin  them. 

There  is  great  anxiety  even  yet  with  them,  lest  this  late  German. 
Confederation,  established  by  Austria,  should  force  upon  them  a 
scale  of  protective  duties.  The  contingent  which  Hamburg  is 
obliged  to  furnish  the  German  Confederation,  when  demanded,  is 
3,560  soldiers,  and  7  cannons  ;  and  in  money  4,083  Thaler,  (about 
$3,000.) 


OCTOBER  28,  1850. 
• 

THE    ROUGH    HOUSE. 

I  went  out  this  morning  to  visit  one  of  the  Hamburg  Institutions, 
which  has  interested  me  more  than  anything  else  in  the  citv.     And 


.V;      A   VAGRANT    HOME  9J 

I  know  of  no  similar  institution,  in  any  land,  commenced  on  this 
plan,  or  earned  on  with  such  wonderful  practical  skill,  and  such  wide- 
reaching  benevolence.  I  see,  however,  that  the  French  government 
have  imitated  it,  in  a  grand  school  of  the  kind,  established  in  Met- 
trai.  I  speak  of  *he  Hamburgh  RAUHE  HAUS,  (Rough  House),  a 
large  Vagrant  School,  established  by  Mr.  Wichern,  in  1833. 

An  omnibus  ride  of  three  miles  carried  me  to  its  neighborhoodv 
and  after  a  walk  through  a  pleasant  wooded  lane,  I  reached  the 
place.  The  \\hole  looked  as  little  like  the  usual  home  for  vagrants, 
as  is  possible.  I  saw  no  squads  of  boys  walking  demurely  about, 
but  looking  as  though  the  very  devil  was  in  them,  if  they  could  only 
let  it  out.  There  were  no  heavy-looking  overseers,  discoursing 
piously  of  the  number  whom  Providence  had  committed  to  their 
charge — and  thinking  of  their  pockets.  And  there  was  not  even 
the  invariable  home  for  forsaken  children — the  huge  stone  building, 
with  one  bare  sunny  court-yard.  The  idea  seems  to  haye  been  here, 
that  to  those  who  have  no  home  of  their  own,  as  much  as  possible 
should  be  given  of  the  home  which  God  has  prepared  for  all. 

It  was  a^  large,  open  garden,  full  of  trees  and  walks  and  flowers 
and  beds  for  vegetables,  while  on  each  side  stretched  away  green 
corn-fields.  Among  the  trees  there  were  some  dozen  plain,  com- 
fortable little  wood -houses,  like  old-fashioned  farm-houses,  scattered 
about,  and  one  quiet,  shaded  chapel.  The  boys  visible  outside,  were 
bu.-^y  cleaning  the  flower-beds,  or  working  in  the  harvest  field  ;  some 
also,  repairing  fences  and  buildings. 

I  walked  up  to  the  largest  of  the  houses,  and  was  directed  pleas- 
antly by  a  lad  to  Mr.  Wichern's  rooms.  A  little  interlude  occurred 
here  very  characteristic  of  our  times. 

Among  the  visitors  who  arrived  just  before  me  was  dear  old 


92  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERiMANY. 


ELIHU  BURRITT,  fresh  from  the  Peace  Congress,  and  on  his  way  to 
Denmark,  with  two  associates,  to  attempt  to  mediate  between  the 
Duchies  and  the  King. 

While  we  were  all  waiting  in  Mr.  W.'s  room,  a  conversation  com- 
menced between  Wichern  and  Burritt  on  the  subject  of  these  peace 
efforts,  which  soon  grew  into  a  warm  discussion.  The  one  did  not 
understand  much  German  nor  the  other  much  English,  yet  there 
was  such  a  natural  eloquence  in  the  two  men,  that^with  the  aid  of 
a  few  interpretations  thrown  in  by  myself,  they  argued  as  well  as  if 
in  the  same  language.  I  never  saw  a  better  contrast — the  fine, 
mild,  winning,  thoughtful  face  of  the  American,  as  he  spoke  of  the 
all-subduing  power  of  Love,  of  the  virtue  that  existeth  in  patience  and 
forbearance  and  meekness,  to  hurl  back  the  greatest  violence ;  or  pic- 
tured the  time  when  havoc  and  war  and  hate  should  no  more  rage 
among  men.  And  on  the  other  side,  the  strong,  marked,  stern 
features  of  the  German,  denouncing  in  deep  tones  the  oppression 
which  was  cursing  Germany,  and  now  soon  to  prostrate  Holstein, 
and  demanding  how  the  injustice  of  the  strong  is  to  be  met,  but  by 
the  strong  blow. 

The  name  "  Rough  House  "  for  this  place  originated,  as  Mr.  W. 
informs  me,  seventeen  years  ago,  when  he  took  a  little  broken-down 
farm-house  here  to  try  if  he  could  not  start,  on  a  new  plan,  a  school 
for  vagrant  children.  It  were  better  called  now — as  some  English 
traveller  has  already  named  it — the  "  Home  among  the  Flowers." 
The  great  peculiarity  of  the  plan  is  the  dividing  the  children  into 
families.  In  each  of  the  little  houses  I  visited  is  a  family  group  of 
some  twelve  children,  managed  by  a  young  man  (an  "  overseer  ") 
with  two  assistants.  The  overseers  are  theological  "students,  who 
have  some  way  imbibed  the  idea  that  two  or  three  years'  practical 
labor  among  the  helple'ss  and  forsaken  is  quite  as  good  a  prepara- 


•  GROUPING."  93 


tion,  for  their  duties,  as  preaching  to  admiring  audiences  or  laying 
up  a  complete  system  of  antiquated  dogmas.  The  "  assistants  "  are 
young  men — farmers  or  mechanics  of  a  religious  turn,  who  intend 
to  spend  their  lives  in  this  kind  of  work.  They  are  employed  at 
first  on  the  most  common  out-door  labor ;  then  are  placed  in  the 
different  workships  to  learn,  and  afterwards  to  direct ;  next  are  ad- 
mitted to  a  care  of  the  boys  within  the  houses,  and  are  taught  by 
the  overseers  the  various  needed  branches  of  education,  and  finally 
take  a  share  with  the  Principal,  in  the  general  supervision  of  the 
Institution.  After  a  four  or  six  years'  course  here,  they  are  sent 
abroad  to  preside  or  assist  in  similar  institutions  through  Germany. 
They  are  mostly  supported  by  voluntary  contributions,  or  by  their 
own  labor.  There  are  twenty-three  here  now.  Mr.  W.  says  that 
there  is  a  great  demand  for  them  ;  and  that  they  have  been  sent 
for  even  from  Russia,  for  orphan  asylums,  houses  of  correction,  rag- 
ged schools  and  the  like  ;  and  that  some  are  now  preaching  among 
the  emigrants  in  America. 

The  matter  of  principal  interest,  of  course,  was  the  situation  of  the 
children.  The  first  house  we  entered  was  a  little  wooden  building 
among  the  flowers  and  the  apple-trees.  It  was  of  only  one  story, 
with  the  exception  of  an  attic  chamber  for  the  assistants.  The  first 
room  wns  a  long,  clean  one,  where  ten  or  twelve  boys  were  sitting 
round  a  table,  working  at  their  slates,  under  the  inspection  of  the 
students.  Their  time  is  divided  off  into  so  many  hours  for  out-door 
work,  so  many  for  play  and  for  study.  This  was  the  schooUirae. 
The  lads  were  all  clean,  comfortable  and  cheerfully  busy.  When  a 
wretched  little  vagrant  from  the  gutter  is  sent  in  here,  he  is  not  at 
once  thrown  into  a  mass  of  boys,  to  work  himself  out  to  ruin  or  to 
goodness  as  he  best  can  ;  to  be  kicked  and  cuffed  ;  to  grab  what  he 
can  get,  and  to  either  teach  others  or  learn  from  others,  all  the  vile 


94  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY, 


things  which  boys  are  certain  to  know.  The  little  stranger  is  put 
with  a  few  other  new  comers,  into  a  separate  house  ("  the  novitiate 
house  ")  where  two  or  three  young  men  have  constant  charge  of 
him.  He  eats  at  their  own  table  with  his  few  comrades,  and  has 
enough.  The  overseers  study  his  disposition,  and  set  him  either 
at  a  trade  or  at  garden  and  farm-work,  as  he  seems  best  fitted.  He 
has  his  play,  and  playmates,  and  free  fresh  air,  and  friends  to  care 
for  him,  who  hold  it  a  labor  of  love,  to  do  for  the  fatherless  one,  in 
a  feeble  manner,  as  Christ  did  for  them. 

.  He  must  work  hard,  but  there  is  variety,  and  it  is  healthy  work. 
After  a  time,  he  is  introduced  into  one  of  the  regular  families,  and 
there,  in  simple  quarters,  under  kind  care,  he  spends  the  five  or  six 
years.  No  wonder  that  it  comes  to  be  such  a  home  to  them  all — 
and  that  the  apprentices,  whom  the  Rauhe  'Haus  has  sent  out  so 
plentifully  through  Germany,  are  so  glad  to  come  back,  and  work  in 
the  shops  on  the  place. 

Besides  the  room  I  have  mentioned,  there  were  in  this  house  a 
sleeping  room,  a  room  for  the  sick,  a  little  kitchen,  and  two  bed- 
rooms for  the  students — all  plain,  but  very  neat. 

After  this,  we  went  round  to  the  various  workshops — for  shoe- 
making,  tailoring,  joinery,  pattern-making,  spinning,  baking,  etc. — 
in  all  these  the  boys  working  very  handily.  In  addition,  there  were 
other  buildings,  where  the  boys,  in  company  with  workmen,  were 
busy  at  book-binding,  printing,  stereotyping,  and  wood  and  stone 
engraving.  A  few  were  employed  out  of  doors  at  the  regular  farm 
work.  There  was  one  good-sized  building,  where  washing,  ironing, 
and  washing  of  dishes,  and  sewing  work  were  done  bj£  the  girls,  for 
there  must  be  some  thirty  or  forty  girls,  here.  There' is  the  same 
general  arrangement  for  them  as  for  the  boys.  They  are  usually 
taught  all  branches  of  housekeeping,  and  are  expected  to  enter 


ITS    SUCCESS.  9/5 


service.  The  boys  are  generally  apprenticed  to  masters.  And  it 
is  said,  from  the  number  of  affiliated  schools  started  by  the  students 
of  this  through  Germany,  and  from  its  many  friends,  that  no 
apprentices  on  their  journeys,  find  a  better  reception  than  these 
from  the  Rauhe  Haus.  We  found  the  chapel  a  quiet,  tasteful 
building,  just  decorated  by  the  boys  for  some  festival  which  they 
wished  to  celebrate. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  feature  about  the  whole  institution, 
was  the  practical  power  displayed  in  it.  It  is  so  rare  for  a 
man,  with  the  moral  enthusiasm  which  would  raise  up  the  helpless 
and  outcast  from  their  degradation,  to  have,  at  the  same  time,  the. 
business  talent  for  such  a  scheme  as  this.  HERR  WICHERN  has 
shown  that  he  unites  both.  His  first  step,  after  establishing  a  few 
of  the  "  family  groups"  and  common  workshops,  was  to  set  up 
printing  presses,  where  the  boys  could  strike  off,  under  the  direction- 
of  a  master  workman,  the  tracts  and  little  books  needed  in  the 
school,  and  the  Reports  of  the  Rauhe  Haus.  They  succeeded  so 
well  at  this,  that  the  works  were  enlarged,  and  now  do  a  consider- 
able external  business,  and  go  far  towards  supporting  the  other 
parts  of  the  establishment.  Many  of  the  boys  are  apprenticed  here, 
instead  of  being  placed  with,  masters. 

In  addition,  a  commercial  agency  (Agentur)  has  been  formed  to 
sell  the  various  articles  made,  by  the  boys.  This  is  separate  from 
the  school,  upon  which  its  losses  will  not  fall.  The  profits  are  to  be 
devoted  to  meeting  the  general  expenses  for  the  children.  Con- 
nected with  it  are  the  lithograph  and  stereotype  shops,  the  wood- 
engraving  and  the  book-binding.  All  these  last  have  proved  very 
successful,  and  the  business  done  by  the  agency  is  quite  extensive. 
It  is  expected  that  with  the  printing  and  the  agency,  the  institution, 
expensive  as  it  is,  will  in  a  few  years  support  itself.  Of  course,  all 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


this  complicated  mass  of  detail  needs  a  clear  bead  to  manage  it — 
and  for  this  management,  Mr.  Wichern  appears  to  be  the  man. 
This,  however,  is  only  a  small  part  of  his  labors.  He  is  a  power- 
ful speaker,  and  has  a  great  faculty  of  influencing  any  man  with 
whom  he  is  thrown  in  contact.  He  has  pleaded  the  cause  of  his 
Wrant  Home  well  through  Germany  ;  and  has  gained  liberal  aid 
even  from  the  princes.  Of  his  labors  for  a  wider  object,  I  have 
already  previously  spoken.  That  I  did  not  exaggerate,  when  I  said 
this  institution  has  not  its  counterpart  in  other  countries  must  be 
apparent. 

A  "  Home  among  the  Flowers,"  where  the  vagrant — the  child 
nourished  amid  filth  and  squalor — in  the  dark  cellars  of  a  great 
city,  should  at  length  see  something  of  God's  beautiful  world ; 
where  among  friends,  in  the  midst  of  orchards  and  corn-fields,  ho 
could  grow  up,  invigorated  by  healthful  labor,  to  manhood — all 
this  would  seem  alone  more  like  the  dream  of  a  philanthropic 
French  novelist,  than  the  reality.  But  still  farther,  that  this  institu- 
tion should  have  a  system,  almost  Fourier-like,  of  "  groups"  and 
families,  and  yet  be  imbued  with  the  simplest,  truest  spirit  of  the 
Christian  religion  ;  that  it  should  send  out  not  only  skilled  appren- 
tices, saved  from  the  prison  and  the  alms-house,  but  educated  young 
men  to  teach  others,  and  to  spread  abroad  the  self-denying,  Chris- 
tian principles  of  the  place — and  most  of  all,  that  it  should  have 
existed  seventeen  years,  and  by  its  well-conducted  industry,  have 
almost  supported  itself,  may  fairly  constitute  it  one  of  the  wonders 
in  benevolent  effort.  The  friend  of  man,  searching  anxiously  foi 
what  man  has  done  for  his  suffering  fellows,  may  look  far  in  both 
continents  before  he  finds  an  institution  so  benevolent,  so  practical, 
and  so  truly  Christian,  as  the  Hamburg  ROUGH  HOUSE. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A    BREAKFAST-TALK. 

L 1,  Duchy  of  Meklenburg  Scnwerin,  Nov.,  1860. 

A  LITTLE  German  country  inn  again !  The  tall  white  stove  in  one 
corner  of  the  room ;  a  well-stuffed,  most  uncomfortable  German 
bed  in  another,  and  the  floor,  scrubbed  and  polished  to  the  highest 
possible  brightness  which  soap  and  water  will  give.  I  am  seated  at 
the  table  with  the  well-worn  portfolio  which  has  accompanied  me  in 
so  many  a  tramp  through  Europe,  and  the  little  pocket  inkstand, 
apparently  contrived  by  the  manufacturer  with  special  reference  to 
being  knocked  over.  Thanks  to  the  fates,  this  neat  table-cloth,  at 
least,  remains  unstained  as  yet !  I  have  bid  good  bye  to  Ham- 
burg, though  it  hardly  seems  yet,  as  if  I  had  really  parted  from 
friends  so  warm  and  true ;  friends  soon  made,  but  not  soon  to  be 
forgotten.  You  who  wish  really  to  know  what  a  home  is,  must 
enter  Germany  as  I  did,  a  stranger ;  and  then  with  the  -slightest 
introduction,  be  received  as  I  was,  at  once  into  the  midst  of  a  kind- 
hearted  family.  You  must  see  the  mutual  forbearance  of  all — the 
open,  unconscious  affection — the  simple  and  cordial  ways — the  free 
respect  for  the  old  father,  and  the  care  for  the  amusements  and 
plays  of  the  children.  You  must  see  the  generous,  though  plain  hos- 
pitality— the  unaffected  friendliness  towards  all  who  enter — the  sunny 
5 


98  SOCIAL  LltE  IN   GERMANY. 

and  confiding  life  through  the  whole  family— and  you  must  be  as  I 
was,  a  traveller,  long  away  from  all  family  influences,  and  tired 
•with  the  incessant  round  of  sights  and  the  superficial  life  in  picture 
galleries  and  museums,  if  you  would  understand  how  pleasant  and 
satisfactory  was  this  my  reception  into  German  Home-Life. 

It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  an  element  running  through  family- 
life  here,  of  which  we  know  little  in  America ;  but  I  reserve  any 
veiy  definite  conclusions,  until  I  see  more  of  the  Germans  in  the 
interior.  I  shall  spend  a  day  or  two  in  this  village,  and  then  pro- 
ceed at  once  to  the  central  point  of  North-Germany — the  old  Prus- 
sian capital — Berlin.  "7cA  bitte  Sie.  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir ;  a 
gentleman  for  you !  sir !"  came  forth  in  the  midst  of  my  medita- 
tions from  an  old  servant,  who  had  entered  almost  without  my 
perceiving  it.  * 

I  found  my  visitor  was  one  of  the  acquaintances  to  whom  I  had 
presented  letter"  of  introduction  the  day  before.  "  You  must  come 
right  up,  and  take  breakfast  with  us,  and  give  the  day  to  us !"  said 
he.  I  met  the  invitation  as  freely  as  it  was  given,  and  only  excused 
myself  from  taking  up  quarters  in  his  house,  by  alleging  the  many 
letters  I  must  write,  and  my  wishing  to  be  alone.  In  a  few  minutes 
I  was  seated  in  a  snug  little  library,  in  a  great  arm-chair,  with  a 
coffee-cup  in  my  hand.  On  another  side,  is  the  father,  in  a  similar 
chair,  his  coffee  on  a  book-stand  beside  him,  and  a  long  pipe  in  his 
mouth.  The  mother,  a  dignified  lady,  with  one  of  the  sweetest 
expressions  of  face  I  ever  sasv,  sits  at  a  little  table  in  the  midst  of 
the  room,  making  the  coffee,  or  passing  us  a  bread  cake,  and  seem- 
ing as  if  she  were  trying  to  make  the  stranger  forget  he  were 
among  any  other  than  his  oldest  friends,  in  which  she  succeeds 
very  well. 

The  only  other  member  of  our  coffee-party,  is  the  gentleman  who 


*;•.  .^w 

A    "^IBERAL." 


bad  come  with  me,  a  young  lawyer  from  Schwerin,  the  capital  of 
this  little  Duchy,  the  son  of  my  friends.  His  breakfast,  he 
says,  is  merely  a  cigar,  a  uot  uncommon  custom  here,  as  I  observe. 
Here  we  are  then,  most  pleasantly  arranged  for  a  morning  chat ! 
The  conversation  turns  at  first,  on  my  own  travels,  my  observations, 
and  the  contrasts  I  notice  here  to  America.  Then,  as  everywhere 
now  in  Germany,  to  the  subject  of  most  absorbing  interest — poli- 
tics. I  asked  the  young  lawyer,  what  the  state  of  feeling  towards 
the  government  was  in  this  Duchy. 

"  Discontent,  utter  discontent !  and  we  have  reason." 

I  inquired  for  the  particulars  whether  they  were  worse  oft'  thau 
other  German  governments. 

"  Perhaps  not,"  said  he,  "  but  look  at  our  situation.  Here  we 
are,  a  little  Principality,*  with  not  more  than  530,000  inhabitants, 
supporting  a  prince  and  expensive  court.  We  are  Germans  and 
want  to  belong  to  Germany,  and  not  be  merely  the  providers  for 
this  duke.  Our  debt  now  is  over  ten  millions  of  thalers,  and  the 
taxes  come  to  some  three  millions  and  a  half!  How  could  we  be 
contented  ?" 

I  saw  I  had  stumbled  upon  a  Liberal,  and  followed  up  the  con- 
versation eagerly. 

"  But  the  people  have  a  constitutional  government  in  the  Duchy, 
have  they  not  ?"  said  I. 

''  Yes,  the  two  Principalities  of  Mecklenburg,  are  under  a  com- 
mon parliament,  and  a  very  old  one,  stiil  the  people  do  not  tako 
mucn  part  in  the  government.  Our  nobles  and  office-holders  control 
everything." 

I.  inquired  about  the  aristocracy  and  whether  the  feudal  relations 
still  existed  in  Meklenburg. 

•  The  Principality  of  Meklenbur 


100 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


"  No,"  said  he,  "  there  are  no  serfs  now,  either  in  Prussia  or  in 
these  Duchies ;  but  we  have  an  old  nobility  which  weighs  upon  us. 
Our  party,  the  Liberal,  have  just  passed  through  a  long  struggle 
with  the  aristocracy.  The  noblemen  have  before  always  had  eve- 
rything under  their  thumbs,  and  have  governed  the  Principality, 
when  the  parliament  was  not  in  session,  by  a  most  unconstitutional 
assembly  of  their  own.  We  attacked  them,  and  carried  our  point, 
and  that  accursed  old  "  Committee"  was  abolished.  But  now  they 
are  getting  the  upper  hand.  They  have  appealed  to  the  "  Austrian 
Union"  at  Frankfort,  and  we  shall  have  all  the  troops  of  the  Bund, 
(Union)  upon  us,  if  we  do  not  give  in !" 

"  This  comes  from  our  divided  Germany,"  said  another  gentle- 
man, who  had  just  entered.  "  If  we  had  a  real  union — a  German 
Fatherland,  the  people  could  protect  themselves  \  But  now,  look 
at  us  !  No  German  cares  for  Germany  !" 

"  But  do  you  think,  dear  Adolph,"  said  the  mother  to  the  liberal 
young  lawyer,  "  that  we  should  be  any  the  better  for  another  revo- 
lution and  bloody  war  ?" 

"  Why  not,  mother  ?  What  could  be  worse  than  this  ?  Look 
at  poor  Holstein !  and  Hesse  !  that  old  forger  (Hassenpflug)  will 
trample  her  down  yet,  and  we  shall  have  Austrian  soldiers  over  every 
thing." 

"  Yes,  my  son,  it  looks  dark,  but  God  will  not  leave  poor  Ger- 
many, we  know.  And  I  do  not  believe  He  works  through  these 
violent  outbreaks.  Let  us  trust  in  Him,  for  we  have  tried  the 
sword,  and  we  must  believe  that  the  good  time  is  not  yet.  Per- 
haps the  people  are  yet  in  their  sins  too  much,  to  be  free ;  we  must 

still " 

She  was  interrupted  by  a  burst  of  feeling  from  the  young  man, 
"What,  mother,  wait!  Mein  Gott!  Wait  still  longer!  God 


DISCUSSION.  101 


made  us  to  be  free  men.  He  never  could  have  meant  us  to 
be  a  nation  of  slaves !  I  would  rather  have  a  war,  than  this  grind- 
ing of  tyranny  day  after  day.  Give  us  a  revolution — anything ! 
We  had  a  glorious  Germany  once,  and,  by  God's  will,  we  can  have 
it  again !" 

"  Mein  liebes  kind,  my  son !"  said  she,  and  though  I  sympathised 
with  the  passionate  son,  I  felt  almost  awed  by  the  expression  of 
earnestness,  so  loving,  yet  so  deep,  which  settled  on  her  face.  "  I 
started  in  life  when  the  French  movement  for  liberty  was  in  full 
sweep.  I  threw  myself  into  it,  as  all  the  young  did  around  me,  with 
all  my  heart.  I  would  have  died  so  gladly,  then,  to  make  my 
countrymen  free. 

"  But  this  all  fell  to  the  ground,  and  nothing  but  infidelity  was  the 
fruit  in  France.  I  was  all  aroused  too  by  the  movements  after  the 
Conferences  in  '15,  and  I  thought  we  were  going  to  have  a  resur- 
rection of  Germany.  But  here  bad  passions,  and  want  of  trust  in 
God,  came  in,  and  everything  was  worse  than  before.  And  then, 
when  1848  came,  I  had  lost  hope.  I  see  that  we  must  all  be 
purified,  and  there  must  be  more  faith  in  God,  and  more  true  reli- 
gion, before  our  German  people  are  ready  for  Freedom. 

"  God  knows,  dear  Adolphe,  that  I  long  and  pray  for  happiness  to 
poor  Germany,  but  He  must  first  prepare  us!  Perhaps  we  can 
never  have  a  free  government !" 

"But  it  is  not  thoroughly  tried,  Mother !  The  kings  promised 
and  cheated  us  in  1812  and  '15  ;  and  we  were  cheated  again  in '48. 
We  trusted  them  too  much.  Look  at  that — King  of  Prussia  ! " 

"  Careful !  Adolphe,  be  careful,"  said  the  father,  looking  anxiously 
round. 

"  I  do  not  care,  father ;  you  know  he  was  completely  in  the 
hands  of  the  mob,  and  he  swore  to  a  Constitution  and  everything— 


102  SOCIAL  LIFE   IN  GERMANY. 


and  now  !  That  would  not  happen  twice.  The  Germans  are  good- 
natured,  but  they  know  the  princes  now  and  woe  to " 

"  Let  us  not  speak  evil,  my  son,  of  those  in  authority.  The  King 
of  Prussia  is  doing  much  for  his  people  and  the  Church.  It  is  not 
Liberty,  dear  Adolphe,  which  the  mob  wants;  it  is  license  and  social- 
istic community  of  property,  and  the  overthrow  of  the  Church. 
Se«3  how  it  all  succeeds  now  in  France  !  Did  we  ever  have  a  worse 
Despotism,  than  in  your  Republie  there  ?  " 

"  Still,  mother,"  answered  the  young  man,  "  there  can  be  Revo- 
lutions which  work  well.  The  American  Revolution,  this  gentleman 
will  tell  you,  was  not  an  infidel  movement.  They  fought  for  free- 
dom and  built  up  a  religious  State.  May  not  we  too  here  ? " 

I  ventured  to  put  in  a  word  here,  and  said  something  of  our  free 
institutions,  and  described  the  deep  hold  which  religion  has  of  the 
heart  of  the  nation ;  and  then  asked,  whether  they  ought  to  test 
these  struggles  by  their  success  in  France.  The  French  character 
was  certainly  different  from  the  German  ;  and  had  been  trained  in 
another  school. 

The  mother  admitted  our  success  in  America,  but  they  thought 
we  had  fresh  materials  and  more  room  ;  and,  especially,  a  basis  in 
the  old  English  Puritan  religious  character.  "  You  have  escaped 
much  in  the  New  World.  Time  only  will  show  what  will  be  the 
result  from  all  these  fearful  wars  and  troubles  in  the  Old.  Where 
the  Spirit  of  God  is,  there  is  Liberty." 

I  was  intensely  interested  in  this  conversation  at  the  time,  though 
it  is  only  a  sample  of  what  one  hears  everywhere  in  Germany. 
'The  pure-minded,  the  religious,  the  old  on  one  side,  who  have  seen 
too  often  the  passionate  hopes  with  which  these  struggles  have  be- 
gun, and  the  sad  disappointments  and  lame  conclusions  ;  who  recog- 
nise in  the  blind  struggles  for  Liberty  and  these  excesses  and  conse- 


A    GERMAN    SUNDAY.  103 


quent  defeats,  the  finger  of  God  pointing  out  that  the  nations  are 
unfitted  for  freedom.  And  the  young,  hopeful,  enthusiastic  on  the 
other,  who  believe  that  there  is  a  future  of  Liberty  and  Love  for 
Humanity,  and  that  they  can  do  something  to  help  it  on ;  who  see 
in  every  defeat,  only  another  impulse  to  exertion  ;  and  who  cannot 
think  that  tyranny  is  anything  but  an  exception — an  excrescence 
in  God's  world,  to  be  cut  off  by  the  strong  hand,  and  through  many 
toils,  if 


One  of  the  days  which  I  spent  here  was  a  Sunday,  and  I  was 
desirous  to  see  how  it  would  be  observed.  My  friends  had  the 
charge  of  a  boarding-school  for  young  ladies.  In  the  morning,  the 
pupils  met  in  a  Bible-class,  as  they  would  in  a  similar  establishment 
at  home.  There  was  more  cheerfulness  than  is  usual  on  this  day 
with  us ;  and,  indeed,  there  was  on  all  days  more  of  an  uncon- 
strained, home-like  aspect  than  F  ever  saw  in  an  American  boarding- 
school.  About  eleven  o'clock,  we  all  went  out  to  the  Lutheran 
Church.  Here,  however,  there  was  nothing  to  remind  of  America. 
A  gray,  mediseavl  church,  very  high  and  spacious,  with  a  few  seats 
placed  in  the  centre  of  the  transept ;  cold  too  and  damp,  with  the 
voice  of  the  clergyman  barely  audible  under  the  lofty  arches.  The 
old,  monkish  preaching-desk — the  images  and  paintings  and  stained 
windows — the  chaunting  by.  the  clergyman,  and  the  wax  candles 
burning  at  the  altar,  almost  made  me  think  I  was  again  in  a  Catho- 
lic cathedral.  A  great  part  of  the  audience  were  obliged  to  stand. 
The  sermon  was  one  of  the  usual  sentimental,  milk-and-water  ex- 
hortations, of  which  the  German  clergy  are  so  fond  ;  and  the  hearers 
seemed  especially  sleepy,  except  during  the  music,  whicli  was  very 
good,  so  that  on  the  whole  I  did  not  get  a  very  favorable  impres- 


104  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


sion  of  the  religious  privileges  in  this  part  of  the  Duchy  of  Mecklen- 
burg 

We  met  at  dinner.  Is  in  all  Christian  countries,  our  Sabbath 
dinner  was  excellent ;  opening  with  red  wine  soup,  and  terminating 
in  the  great  delicacy  of  this  Principality,  a  Meklenburg  roast-goose. 
The  conversation  was  very  pleasant  and  cheerful,  but  mostly  on 
religious  or  moral  subjects.  After  it  was  over,  the  ladies  went  out 
to  the  Sunday-schools,  and  the  gentlemen  gathered  in  the  drawing- 
room  to  their  coffee.  The  talking,  much  more  naturally  too,  than 
in  most  of  our  religious  families,  was  serious  in  its  tone. 

There  was  another  service  in  the  afternoon  in  the  same  Lutheran 
church.  At  the  close,  all  who  felt  inclined,  started  on  a  walk 
through  the  fine  large  park  belonging  to  the  Duke,  and  surrounding 
his  palace — one  of  the  finest  palaces,  by  the  way,  in  Europe,  in  the 
exterior. 

A  German  never  understands  our  mode  of  observing  the  Sab- 
bath. It  seems  to  him  an  utter  change  from  the  old  idea  of  the 
day — a  day  set  apart  as  a  religious  festival.  He  holds  that  to  be 
gloomy,  unsocial  or  averse  to  enjoying  Nature  on  that  day,  is  not 
only  contrary  to  the  old  Jewish  custom,  which  he  does  not  consider 
binding,  but  opposed  to  the  Christian  event  commemorated  in  it ; 
an  event  beyond  all  others  joyous  to  the  believer.  There  is  nothing 
•with  Germans  who  have  visited  England,  which  they  look  back 
upon  with  such  such  utter  gloom  and  aversion,  as  the  aspects  they 
gained  of  the  "  English  Sabbath,"  as  they  call  it.  One  half  of  a 
city,  with  sour  faces,  shutting  itself  up  in  churches  and  houses  on 
that  day,  and  the  other  half,  sunk  in  the  lowest  brutah'ty. 

Their  object,  as  they  will  often  tell  you,  is  to  make  "the  day  one 
of  worship  and  practical  benevolence,  and  at  the  same  time,  of  reli- 
gious sociality.  They  take  long  walks  in  the  afternoon  and  evening 


THE    CONTRAST.  105 


urging  that  it  is  unnatural  to  confine  oneself  to  the  house  svy  closely 
a  whole  day  ;  and  that  to  a  religious  mind,  nothing  is  so  conducive 
to  good  thoughts,  as  a  free  movement  among  the  beautiful  things 
God  has  made. 

This  can  be  abused,  they  allow  ;  but  so  can  every  privilege ;  and 
it  may  be  doubted,  say  they,  whether  for  the  young  any  abuse  is 
worse  than  the  stupid,  impatient  hours  they  must  have,  if  shut 
in  the  house  through  the  long  pleasant  day.  It  is  a  time  beyond 
all  others,  which  they  wish  connected  in  their  children's  minds  with 
pleasant,  natural  associations.  These  are  the  views  of  the  religious 
community.  The  mass  of  Germans  do  not  at  all  recognize  the  day 
as  in  any  sense  religious.  Concerts,  theatres,  nine-pins,  beer-drink- 
ing, and  universal  amusement  and  excess  fill  up  the  hours.  A  few 
of  the  women  attend  church  service  in  the  morning ;  the  men 
seldom. 

I  have  stood  in  German  villages  on  the  Sabbath,  and  as  the 
memory  of  our  New  England  homes  came  over  me,  I  have  felt 
almost  sick  at  heart  at  the  contrast.  Here  the  workingmen 
sunken,  degraded,  with  dull,  sodden  faces ;  dignified  by  little  con- 
sciousness of  an  Immortality,  and  elevated  by  no  share  in  an  intelli- 
gent worship ;  almost  without  hope  or  aspiration,  and  spending  the 
hours  of  a  day,  which  God  and  man  had  given  him  for  the  eleva- 
tion of  his  whole  nature,  in  swilling  beer,  in  dull  games,  and  heavy 


There,  the  man,  intelligent ;  aroused  ;  solemn-it  may  be  gloomy 
sometimes — in  memory  of  his  Duty  and  his  Destiny ;  his  mind 
intensely  active  over  the  thoughts  presented,  and  filled  with  infinite 
hopes ;  the  day  too  formal  often,  but  beautified  with  a  few  pure, 
calm  hours,  whDse  influence  goes  with  him  long  in  the  whirl  and 
5* 


106  SOCIAL   LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


excitement  afterwards.  "  Thank  Gpd,"  I  have  said  to  myself,  "  the 
laborer  with  us  has  not  forgotten  that  he  is  a  man  !" 

I  would  never  for  a  moment  advocate  any  strict  legal  mode  of 
observing  the  Sabbath  ;  or  any  mode  giving  the  impression  that 
we  are  more  bound  to  be  religious  on  one  day  than  on  another. 

The  very  idea  of  the  day  is,  that  it  should  be  a  time  for  free  spirit- 
ual exercise  ;  a  change  from  usual  pursuits,  and  a  means  necessary 
in  the  arrangements  of  society,  for  building  up  our  piety.  There 
may  be  hypocrisy,  and  formality,  and  a  needless  seriousness  of 
manner  on  that  day  with  us  ;  still  it  will  be  long  before  any  rational 
well-wisher  to  humanity  would  desire  to  see  our  New  England 
Sabbath  exchanged  for  the  German  Holiday. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


Berlin,  Nov.  12, 1850. 

BERLIN  has  been  like  a  camp  this  past  week  ;  drilling  and  arming 
the  recruits  going  on  all  the  while ;  and  the  streets  echoing,  almost 
every  hour  of  the  day,  to  the  tramp  of  companies,  marching  through 
the  city  to  the  railroad.  All  business  is  interrupted,  for  the  workmen 
in  almost  every  branch  of  employment  are  obliged  to  hurry  off  at 
once  to  their  regiments.  There  is  the  greatest  enthusiasm  among 
all.  Press  and  pulpit,  the  democrat  and  the  royalist,  alike  sustain 
the  war,  and  exhort  all  parties  on,  to  uphold  the  honor  of  Prussia 
and  the  cause  of  constitutional  liberty. 

A  war  against  Austria  and  her  allies  for  poor  Hesse-Cassel ! 

I  have  often  laughed  over  the  struggles  of  the  Germans  for 
the  mysterious  "  Unity,"  and  the  incessant  efforts  for  freedom,  always 
ending  in  pamphlets  and  speech-making.  But  I  shall  not  be 
inclined  do  so  again.  During  the  last  two  weeks,  I  have  seen, 
something  of  the  deep  German  feeling  on  these  matters.  In  our 
quiet,  comfortable  condition  at  home,  where  we  vote  at  town-meet- 
ings, and  choose  a  President,  and  come  to  look  upon  "  liberty"  much 
as  we  do  on  our  breakfasts — as  a  very  pleasant  thing,  but  quite  a 
matter  of  course — it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  appreciate  the  intense 


103  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 

feeling  about  it  in  foreign  countries,  and  still  more  difficult,  the  feel- 
ing which  exists  in  Prussia  at  the  present  time,  as  connected  with 
German  Unity  and  this  war  with  Austria.  But,  if  any  one  will 
imagine  a  despotic  Power,  pouring  its  masses  of  troops  over  our 
own  land,  not  alone  about  to  destroy  our  position  among  nations  as 
an  independent  and  self-protecting  people,  but  with  the  Union  to 
blot  out  the  last  hope  of  liberty  in  our  part  of  the  world,  he  will 
have  some  idea  of  the  feeling  of  the  Prussians,  as  they  look  at  this 
mighty  combination  against  them. 

The  patriot,  who  has  been  longing  and  laboring  for  liberty  in 
Germany,  sees  in  this  attack  of  Austria,  the  breaking  up  of  the 
Union,  in  which  rested  the  great  hope  of  constitutional  changes ; 
sees  the  advancement  of  the  old  "  Bundestag"  (Diet)  with  its 
hatred  of  free  institutions,  and  its  crushing  of  constitutional  resis- 
tance ;  and  Russia  and  Austria,  the  old  arbitrary  powers,  fastening, 
hand  in  hand,  their  influence  on  Germany.  All  hope  of  carrying 
out  the  constitution  in  Hesse  is  gone ;  and  Prussia,  the  representa- 
tive in  Germany  of  freer  institutions,  must  take,  henceforth,  the 
position  of  a  second-rate  power. 

The  soldier — and  in  this  feeling  the  majority  of  the  people  sym- 
pathize— sees  the  firm  old  state  which  he  has  loved  so  much,  built 
up  by  the  Great  Frederick  against  overwhelming  odds,  sustained 
through  many  a  reverse  and  powerful  attack  by  a  military  organiza- 
tion hardly  less  stringent  than  the  Lacedemonian,  and  by  a  military 
pride  as  high  as  was  ever  that  of  the  Romans — he  must  see  all 
this,  at  last,  disgraced.  The  ignorant  Austrian,  and  the  beer- 
drinking,  heavy  Bavarian,  are  to  give  the  law  to  his  country. 

Can  we  wonder  at  the  excitement  with  which  the  news  of  the 
war  was  received  throughout  the  land  ?  Never,  we  believe,  was 
the  drafting  for  an  army  more  cheerfully  borne  with.  The  law  for 


RECRUITING.  109 


•'  mobilizing"  the  army — that  is  for  putting  it  on  a  war  footing — 
required  200,000  men  in  twenty-four  hours' time;  yeC  in  many 
districts,  it  is  said,  many  more  volunteers  presented  themselves  than 
the  regular  number  demanded. 

Throughout  the  week  previous  there  had  been  every  appearance 
that  the  Ministry  in  the  conference  at  Warsaw,  intended  to  yield  to 
the  demands  of  Austria.  The  original  order  for  mobilizing  the 
army  was  countermanded.  The  official  journal  was  peaceful  in  its 
tone,  and  the  King  was  known  to  be  for  concessions.  It  cannot  be 
imagined  how  deep  the  indignation  and  regret  was  at  this,  through- 
out the  land.  From  every  quarter,  from  conservative  and  constitu- 
tional journals,  from  soldiers  and  citizens,  came  the  most  heart- 
stirring  appeals  against  this  "  disgrace"  of  Prussia — this  bowing 
down  to  the  arbitrary  powers  of  Germany.  And  when,  at  last,  the 
order  came  to  fill  up  the  army — that  is,  to  prepare  for  war — there 
was  a  burst  of  joy  throughout  the  kingdom.  Thanks  poured  into 
the  cabinet  from  every  part.  Not  a  newspaper  which  did  not  utter 
its  congratulations  over  the  step  at  last  taken.  And  yet  it  was  a 
joy  tempered  with  serious  forebodings  in  the  minds  of  many. 
Prussia  was  entering  upon  a  war,  whose  result  no  man  could  tell ; 
a  contest  which  might  be  as  long  and  disastrous  to  German  develop- 
ment as  was  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  It  was  against  fearful  odds 
also.  There  was  Austria  with  an  army  of  120,000  men,  many  of 
them  veterans  in  the  campaigns  of  Italy  and  Hungary,  right  upon 
the  borders  of  Hesse.  There  was  Bavaria,  with  a  body  of  80,000 
eager  to  pour  themselves  over  Prussia.  The  other  German  states— 
unless  perhaps  Hanover — were  either  neutral  or  united  with 
Austria.  The  colossal  Power  on  the  eastern  frontier  was  an  ally  of 
Austria,  and  might  at  any  moment  take  the  opportunity  to  gain  a 
foothold  in  Germany,  by  sending  an  immense  army  over  Silesia. 


110  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


England  was  averse,  and  France  was  reported  even  to  have  designs 
on  the  Prussian  provinces  on  the  Rhine. 

Besides,  it  was  feit  Prussia  was  a  country  in  the  last  degree 
unfitted  to  be  defended.  Open'  on  every  side,  disjointed,  with  the 
enemy's  forces  between  the  two  extremities,  it  could  hope  for  nothing 
but  in  bold  attacks. 

Such  was  the  feeling  in  Berlin,  these  last  two  weeks.  Two  more 
exciting  weeks  I  have  not  passed  in  foreign  lands.  So  many  events 
in  such  quick  succession.  First  the  conferences  in  Warsaw,  the 
countermanding  the  order  for  mobilizing  the  army,  the  resignation 
of  Radowitz,  the  momentary  withdrawing  of  the  ministry ;  then 
war,  with  all  its  exciting  preparations  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  all  this 
turmoil,  the  quiet  death  of  the  brave  old  man*  who  was  one  of  the 
chief  actors,  worried  to  his  grave,  some  said,  by  these  troubles  in  his 
country's  affairs. 

Such,  as  I  have  said,  is  the  Prussian  view  of  this  war ;  but  it  is 
a  view  which  I  cannot  at  all  take.  I  have  talked  about  this  contest 
often  with  my  friends,  and  I  feel  deeply  the  hopes  and  desires  which 
they  connect  with  it,  but  I  am  compelled  to  believe  they  are  de- 
ceived in  the  intentions  with  which  it  is  carried  on. 

It  is  true,  the  old  Bundestag  is  the  enemy  of  constitutional 
changes  ;  it  is  true,  that  in  the  Cassel  affair,  Prussia  is  on  the  side  of 
the  people  against  the  arbitrary  Curfiirst,  and  that,  as  a  nation,  she 
is  the  representative  of  the  constitutional  party.  Still  I  have  no 
confidence  whatever  in  the  Government.  They  have  crushed  liberty 
in  Baden  ;  the^y  have  put  down  democratic  efforts  in  Hamburg ; 
they  have  cajoled  the  people  into  a  constitution  which  is  no  constitu- 
tion, and  I  do  not  see  why  they  may  not  act  consistently  to  their 
old  character  in  Cassel,  when  the  war  is  over. 

*  Count  Brandenburgh,  Prime  Minister  after  the  resignation  of  Radowitz. 


THE   KING  in 


At  the  head  of  this  government  is  a  most  remarkable  character — 
the  present  King  of  Prussia — on  whom'  much  of  the  results  of  the 
war  will  depend.  Probably  on  no  throne  of  Europe  has  there  been 
for  many  years,  so  gifted  a  p'ersonage.  In  all  the  accomplishments 
which  make  the  cultivated  gentleman,  in  delicate  taste  for  art,  in  a 
refined  ear  for  music,  in  general  scholarship,  and  in  elegant  address, 
he  has  no  superior.  Unlike  the  matter-of-fact  character  of  most 
kings  of  the  present  day,  he  has  a  highly  imaginative  nature — given, 
to  Phantasie,  as  the  Germans  say — and  quick  often  to  move  to 
noble  impulses.  But,  as  both  friends  and  enemies  confess,  there  is 
no  dependence  to  be  placed  on  his  phantasies — and  the  enthusiasm 
of  one  day  may  altogether  die  away  on  the  next.  Still  in  all  his  po- 
litical changes  he  has  been  true  to  one  "ideal,"  an  ideal  formed  long 
ago,  and  growing  more  real  to  him,  till  he  forgets  entirely  the  age  in 
which  he  lives. 

He  believes  in  a  State  where  no  written  constitution  shall  exist — 
where  the  king  rules  with  a  patriarchal  authority,  directly  derived 
from  God,  and  where  different  classes  (Mdchte)  form  the  elements 
of  government,  restraining  one  another.  This  idea  appears  through- 
out his  reign  ;  under  it,  he  has  promised  constitutional  changes 
which  he  has  never  granted,  deceived  the  people  with  constitutions 
where  the  true  elements  of  liberty  were  gone,  and  has  acted,  whether 
fickle  or  false,  again  and  again,  with  most  disastrous  influence 
on  the  liberties  of  Prussia.  This  idea  comes  forth  again  this  very 
vear,  when  he  gives  the  Constitution  of  February ;  promising  to 
observe  this  instrument,  but  with  this  condition  always,  that  "  the 
King  reigns ;"  for  "  he  reigns  by  God's  ordinance" 

From  such  a  man  I  do  not  believe  Constitutional  Freedom  lias 
anything  to  expect ;  and  I  cannot  hope  for  favorable  results  from  a 
war  of  which  he  has  the  guidance. 


112  SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


In  my  opinion,  the  government  and  the  people  have  a  different 
object,  and  the  result  will  show  either  that  the  Cabinet  will  evade  a 
war,  which  may  strengthen  the  constitutional  party,  or  that,  when 
they  have  gained  the  victory  in  Cassel,  they  are  no  more  desirous  of 
granting  constitutional  privileges  there  than  they  have  been  in  Hei- 
delberg, or  are  now  in  Berlin. 

Amid  all  this  clangor  of  arms,  and  tumult,  and  passion  of  oppos- 
ing nations,  there  is  a  plain,  quiet,  good-hearted  man  in  one  of  the 
great  cities  of  Germany,  devoting  his  whole  time  and  no  small 
talents,  in  sending  forth,  through  the  German  papers,  messages  of 
Peace.  He  has  separated  himself  from  his  country,  and  even  from 
those  who  sympathise  with  him,  to  do  this.  It  is  a  work  of  labor, 
and  of  expense — for  .every  article  has  to  be  paid  for  as  if  it  were  an 
advertisement.  There  is  no  honor  in  it ;  for  the  sneer,  or  the  good- 
natured  joke,  is  all  that  he  gets  in  return.  Yet  through  it  all,  in  all 
this  whirl  and  preparation  of  war  around  him,  he  works  away; 
sending  out,  in  faith,  these  little  "  Olive  Branches"  as  he  calls 
them.  Need  I  say,  it  is  dear  ELIHU  BURRITT— the  sturdy  Yankee 
workman  of  former  days— the  kind-hearted,  industrious  friend  of 
man,  in  these  ?  If  his  voice  be  indeed  so  far  beyond  the  age  that 
none  can  hear  it,  one  may  still  wish  him  God's  blessing ! 


CHAPTER    XII. 


IN  wandering  about  Berlin,  I  felt  myself  at  once  in  an  entirely 
different  atmosphere  from  that  in  Hamburg.  The  books  in  the 
windows,  the  objects  of  art,  the  shops,  and  even  the  very  external 
of  the  citizens  were  all  changed.  I  had  left  commercial  Germany 
for  intellectual  Germany.  There  were  fewer  marks  of  individual 
wealth — but  far  more  of  general  taste  and  culture. 

Berlin,  as  a  whole,  is  not  an  agreeable  city  in  appearance.  Why 
any  one  should  ever  have  chosen  such  a  site  for  the  Capital  of  a 
large  kingdom  ; — a  place  in  the  midst  of  a  wide,  sandy  plain,  with 
no  beauty  of  scenery,  unprovided  with  stone  or  building  materials, 
and  on  the  banks  of  a  miserable  little  rivulet,  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand. The  main  street,  (the  Friedrichs  strasse,)  some  two  miles  in 
length,  is  on  one  dead  level,  so  that  the  water  in  many  spots  never 
flows  off  in  the  drains.  The  back  and  side  streets  are  very  dirty 
and  without  sidewalks.  All  the  finest  parts  of  the  city  arc  built 
of  *brick,  stuccoed,  and  in  this  hot  dusty  locality,  the  stucco  either 
crumbles  off  badly,  or  becomes  very  much  discolored.  Even  the 
Koyal  Palace — one  of  the  largest  palaces  in  Europe,  looks  as  soiled 
and  begrimed  as  a  Liverpool  warehouse. 


114  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


Nothing  seems  built  completely.  The  Brandenburg  Gate — the 
most  imposing  portal  perhaps  in  the  world — is  constructed  of  brick, 
stuccoed  in  imitation  of  stone,  and  the  only  genuine  tiling  on  it,  is 
the  copper  car  of  victory,  crowning  it. 

Still  refined  taste  has  atoned  for  the  want  of  scenery,  or  of  build- 
ing material.  The  architectural  points  of  view  seemed  to  me 
without  an  equal  in  any  city  of  Europe,  except  Edinburgh.  I  shall 
never  forget  my  impressions,  when  first  walking  down  the  broad 
street,  "  Unter  den  Linden,"  (Under  the  lindens) — a  street  perhaps 
twice  as  wide  as  Broadway,  with  a  noble  avenue  of  lindens  in  the 
centre.  At  one  end,  were  the  columns  of  the  splendid  Branden- 
burg Gate,  like  the  portico  of  a  Grecian  temple,  and  at  the  other, 
as  I  stood  on  the  bridge,  was  a  view  of  as  many  noble  buildings  in 
various  directions,  as  any  modern  city  will  show.  The  sturdy,  com- 
pact-looking arsenal,  the  most  original  and  consistent  architectural 
conception  in  the  city ;  the  New  Museum  with  its  colonnades  and 
brilliant  frescoes  ;  the  little  temple-like  building  relieving  the  fore- 
ground— a  guard-house ;  the  gloomy  and  massive  palace  behind 
the  university,  and  seen  through  an  interval  of  the  houses,  a  square 
(the  Gens  d"1  armes  Platz,)  lined  with  imposing  buildings  and 
churches. 

But  there  was  about  it  all  to  me  an  interest  greater  even  than 
the  pleasure  from  its  architecture.  None  but  one  who  has  felt,  can 
understand  an  American  traveller's  first  fresh  feelings,  in  standing  in 
scenes  of  old  historic  association.  To  me  the  whole  was  speaking  of 
the  Past.  The  old  iron-hearted,  indomitable  king,  whose  campaigns 
I  Lid  followed  when  a  boy,  as  if  they  were  a  tale  of  romance, 
seemed  to  me  still  to  fill  the  scenes  with  his  presence.  "The  martial 
air  over  everything,  the  statues  of  general  and  soldier,  the  designs 
and  sculpture,  everywhere  picturing  war  and  struggle  and  victory, 


MEMORIALS.  115 


the  buildings  he  had  erected,  and  even  the  squadrons  of  men  who 
marched  incessantly  by  with  the  precision  of  working  machines,  all 
spoke  to  me  of  the  stern  old  General  and  Martinet,  who  had  himself 
by  his  unconquerable  purpose  built  up  a  Capital  and  a  Kingdom  of 
soldiers.  Everywhere,  too,  voices  from  Prussia's  short,  but  glorious 
history.  There  right  by  me,  the  bare  head  whitened  by  a  squall, 
of  November  snow,  as  it  might  have  been  on  many  a  battle  field, 
the  foot  treading  proudly  over  a  dismounted  cannon,  and  the  sword 
waving  triumphantly  in  the  air,  is  a  bronze  statue  of  the  fiery 
Bliicher. 

Across  the  street,  in  reflective  posture,  a  marble  figure  of  the  man 
who  beyond  all  others  prepared  Prussia,  and  organized  her  army 
for  the  grand  struggle  with  the  French  in  '14  and  '15 — Scharn- 
horst;  behind  him,  as  the  trophies  of  the  city,  the  cannon  and  mor- 
tars brought  back  from  Paris,  in  1816.  And  beyond,  on  the  great 
gate,  the  car  of  victory  recovered  from  Napoleon  after  the  battle  of 
Waterloo. 

In  the  gathering  darkness,  as  the  thick  ranks  of  soldiers  hurried 
eagerly  on  ovei  the  bridge,  towards  the  road  for  Southern  Germany, 
or  as  some  more  enthusiastic  shouted,  "Fur  Konig  und  Vater- 
land!''1  (For  King  and  Fatherland!)  it  almost  seemed  as  if  the 
Great  Frederick  might  again  appear  in  his  three-cornered  hat  and 
careless  uniform  to  lead  the  armies  on  to  victory ;  or  as  if  there 
were  again  an  uprising  of  Prussia  with  her  old  war-cry,  to  oppose 
a  combined  Europe.  But,  alas  !  a  most  degenerate  descendant  sits 
on  the  throne  of  the  "  soldier-king ; "  and  the  contest,  towards  which 
they  enthusiastically  hasten,  shall  be  but  another  of  the  valorous 
displays  and  cowardly  retractions,  which  have  marked  the  reign  of 
FREDERICK  WILLIAM. 


118  SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


The  city,  as  I  said  before,  shows  everywhere  the  marks  of  a  high 
culture  and  taste. 

I  have  already  visited  an  Institution,  founded,  I  think,  by  the 
Government,  whose  sole  object  is  to  instruct  gratuitously  apprentices 
of  the  various  trades  in  the  fine  arts,  with  reference  to  improvements 
in  the  patterns  of  manufactures,  and  in  the  designs  of  common 
utensils.  The  King  has  been  very  earnest  in  his  endeavors  to  im- 
prove the  taste  of  the  people,  and  to  beautify  the  city.  The  large 
galleries  of  painting  and  sculpture,  and  the  fine  collections  of  an- 
tique vases,  coins  and  medals,  are  entirely  open  to  all.  He  is  putting 
up  also  a  colossal  bronze  equestrian  statue  of  Frederick  the  Great, 
by  Rauch,  in  the  Linden  Avenue,  and  is  now  erecting  besides  one 
of  the  most  tasteful  and  consistent  structures  which  is  to  be  found  in 
Europe,  designed  as  a  building  for  the  reception  of  the  numerous 
collections  of  sculpture  and  works  of  antiquity,  in  Berlin.  It  is  con- 
structed throughout,  as  much  as  possible,  in  the  classic  style.  The 
floors  are,  in  most  instances,  of  the  most  minutely  tesselated  marble, 
of  all  varieties  of  color.  The  walls,  and  cornices,  and  roof,  are  painted 
in  the  elaborate  classic  mode ;  every  appropriate  space  filled  with 
minute,  exquisite  colored  figures,  or  with  those  strange  devices  from 
mythology,  and  history,  and  life,  which  one  can  still  see  in  the  houses 
of  Pompeii.  The  columns  are  of  every  variety  and  color  of  marble, 
carefully  chiseled,  even  to  the  finest  leaf  on  the  capitals.  On  some 
of  the  side-  walls  there  are  bold,  free,  almost  startling  frescoes,  by 
Kaulbach  and  Cornelius ;  and  on  others,  genuine  classic  alto-relievo 
work,  brought  from  Rome  or  Athens.  The  niche  for  each  statue  is 
painted  appropriately  to  the  character,  with  beautiful  minute  figures, 
and  the  wall-veils  beneath  the  cornices  are  filled  with  mythological, 
grotesque  combinations  from  the  hands  of  German  artists,  as  luxu- 


THE  MUSEUM.  117 


riant,  or  wild,  or  sensuous  in  composition,  as  any  which  ever  adorned 
the  temples  of  Venus  or  of  Bacchus. 

The  whole,  like  the  ruined  houses  of  Pompeii,  or  the  remains  of 
the  palaces  and  baths  of  Rome,  leaves  an  impression  of  the  most 
wonderful  combination  of  elaborate  and  solid  work.  It  was  the 
splendor  and  massiveness  of  an  ancient  temple,  with  the  fineness  of 
a  modern  miniature  museum.  I  wandered  a  long  time  through 
the  splendid  halls  and  lofty  porches,  and  could  not  but  think,  as  I 
looked  at  it  all,  that  there  were  some  advantages  from  this  centraliz- 
ing of  power  in  the  Old  World,  which  we  must  wait  long  for  ill 
the  New. 

But,  as  I  go  abroad  among  the  people  ;  as  I  see  soldiers  stationed 
at  every  corner  and  in  every  public  place ;  as  I  find  that  a  man  can- 
not stir  from  his  city  and  hardly  from  his  house,  without  feeling  this 
strong  grasp  of  the  central  power ;  as  I  hear  the  desires  of  noblo 
men  expressed  for  something  freer  and  better  for  their  nation  ;  and 
as  I  observe  how  confused  and  unsatisfied,  and  unhappy,  the  con- 
dition of  these  German  monarchies  is  now,  I  feel  how  poor  the  ex- 
change of  this,  with  all  its  splendor  and  taste  would  be,  for  our  free, 
unchecked  society. 

Soon  after  my  arrival,  an  entertainment  occurred  quite  character- 
istic of  Berlin,  and  which  is  considered  one  of  the  great  literary  en- 
joyments of  the  season.  It  is  the  acting  over  of  one  of  the  old 
Greek  plays,  with  all  the  appropriate  accompaniments.  In  this  case 
it  was  the  tragedy  of  Antigone.  Tieck,  one  of  the  first  poets  and 
literary  men  of  the  age,  and  Bockh,  the  great  classical  scholar  from 
the  University,  were  consulted  as  to  the  decorations  atid  scenery. 
The  choruses  were  translated  by  Donner,  and  the  music  composed 
for  them  was  by  Mendelssohn, — I  suppose  the  greatest  of  modern 
composers.  The  more  difficult  parts  of  the  scenery  had  been  pro- 


118  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


vided  by  the  King  himself,  from  whom,  I  believe,  the  whole  idea 
originated. 

At  an  early  hour  there  was  gathered  in  the  theatre  an  immense 
audience  of  students  and  professors,  and  all  the  principal  literary 
people  of  Berlin.  The  very  first  aspect  of  the  scenery  and  stage, 
was  strange.  Beside  the  customary  stage  behind  the  curtain,  there 
was  another  lower  stage,  in  front,  with  entrances  on  each  side  for 
the  actors.  On  each  side  of  the  curtain  were  beautiful  fresco  figures 
of  the  Comic  and  the  Tragic  muse.  The  curtain  fell  instead  of  rising, 
as  in  modern  dnys ;  and  the  actors  came  in  from  the  front,  instead 
of  the  back — a  much  more  difficult  thing,  by  the  way. — The  princi- 
pal characters  alone  enter  from  the  opposite  side  to  the  audience. 
I  believe  there  was  some  further  arrangement  also,  which  my  clas- 
sical knowledge  hardly  carries  me  through,  such  as  the  servants 
and  one  set  of  characters  entering  from  the  left,  and  another  from 
the  right.  The  scene  was  the  front  of  a  Grecian  house — some  beau- 
tiful columns, — an  altar  and  small  statue,  with  offerings  upon  it, 
and  an  opening  occasionally  into  the  peristyle  beyond. 

On  the  lower  stage,  was  an  altar  with  offerings  of  flowers  upon  it, 
around  which  were  grouped  the  members  of  the  choroi.  These 
were  old  men,  with  long  white  hair,  and  holding  staffs  in  their  hands, 
in  tunic  and  robe  and  sandals.  There  were  two  parties,  each  with 
different  color  and  responding  to  one  another  in  the  chorus ;  the 
leaders  sustaining  the  dialogue,  where  it  was  required  in  the  play. 
Their  "  grouping"  throughout — and  their  positions  about  the  altar, 
which  they  were  continually  changing,  were  very  striking.  In  the 
first  scene,  or  "episode,"  Antigone  is  seen  coming  out  .of  the  house, 
with  the  graceful  costume  which  the  old  wall-paintings  give  us  of 
Grecian  maidens,  and  with  a  classic  urn  on  her  head,  which  had 


A    GREEK    PLAY.  119 


quite  probably  been  borne  in  that  very  way  some  two  thousand  years 
ago. 

It  is  a  very  difficult  play  to  act.  The  conceptions  are,  very  many 
of  them,  so  foreign  to  modern  ideas  ;  the  allusions  to  old  historical 
events  and  to  Mythology  are  so  very  hard  to  render  appropriately — 
and  the  expressions  of  Greek  passion  and  pathos,  sound  so  strangely 
in  modern  version,  that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  if  the  acting 
had  failed.  Still,  with  all  this,  and  with  the  fact  that  one  accus- 
tomed to  read  dramas,  is  always  disappointed,  when  they  are  acted, 
I.  found  myself  carried  away  by  the  whole  representation.  There  is 
an  idea,  running  through  the  whole  play,  of  dark,  inexorable  Fate 
hanging  over  the  unfortunate  House,  and  urging  them  to  mad  crimes. 
And  yet  one  can  see,  as  perhaps  the  poet  meant  to  show  of  all 
Fate,  that  after  all,  it  is  their  own  voluntary  madness.  These  ideas 
were  left  almost  painfully  on  my  mind.  Then  the  nobleness  and 
rashness  of  Antigone  as  she  resolves  to  defy  Creon's  and  the  State's 
command,  and  bury  the  corpse  of  her  brother,  Polynices  The  in- 
flexible will  of  Creon,  as  he  dooms  her  to  death,  and  denies  the 
prayer  of  his  favorite  son — the  betrothed  of  Antigone — for  mercy, 
and  his  terrible  grief,  as  he  finds  that  with  her,  he  has  destroyed  his 
son  and  his  beloved  wife,  Eurydice.  All  this  wild,  fierce  emotion, 
was  wonderfully  brought  out — and  in  every  part,  came  the  glorious 
music  of  the  choroi,  as  they  sang  alternately  of  the  blindness  of 
men  in  the  hands  of  inexorable  Fate ;  of  the  sweep  and  power  of 
human  passion  ;  or  of  the  unspeakable  greatness  of  the  All-power- 
ful who  sits  above  this — a  passage  worthy  of  Job.  I  have  never 
heard  music  that  was  more  thrilling,  and  there  was  in  it  all,  a  wild, 
strange  tone,  as  consistent  to  that  mysterious  Fate  hanging  over  this 
House.  That  tender  passage  too,  where  Antigone  half  excuses  her 


120  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


own  heroic  devotion  to  her  brother,  which  had  impelled  her  to  defy 
law,  and  almost  to  forget  her  love  to  her  betrothed, 

''  Not  for  Hate,  but  Love,  was  J,  by  nature  formed," 

was  given  with  touching  truthfulness.  The  death  of  Eurydice  was 
beautifully  shown,  by  throwing  open  the  inner  portals  of  the  house, 
where  were  seen  the  funeral  maidens  gathered  around  a  white  form, 
with  burning  torches  and  flowers. 

There  was  no  division  of  the  play  into  acts — only  episodes.  The 
whole  throughout,  in  costume,  decorations,  scenery — even  manners, 
in  the  most  wonderful  consistency  to  what  we  know  of  the  Grecian 
modes  ;  though  probably  the  thing  most  inconsistent,  was  the  music  ; 
which  I  suppose  would  have  been  far  inferior  in  the  original.  Alto- 
gether, it  was  a  very  high  intellectual  enjoyment,  and  impressed  old 
Grecian  Drama  on  the  mind,  more  than  many  a  college  lecture. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LIFE    IN    BERLIN. 

Nov.  1850. 

I  HAVE  taken  lodgings  in  a  very  pleasant  street — the  Dorotheen 
Strasse — near  the  Linden  Avenue,  and  where-  several  of  the 
Americans  and  Germans,  to  whom  I  have  letters,  reside.  My  room 
is  on  the  second  story,  with  a  pleasant  exposure,  and  on  the  whole 
neatly  furnished,  though  it  has  required  a  long-sustained  argument 
to  get  rid  of  that  enormous  feather-bed  coverlid.  I  pay  four  Thaler 
(about  $2  80)  the  month,  which  is  cheap  enough;  and  the  break- 
fast of  coffee  and  rolls  costs  eight  cents,  and  dinner  at  the  cafes, 
from  twelve  and  a  half  to  thirty-seven  cents,  very  neat  and  with 
several  courses ;  so  that  living  in  Berlin  does  not  seem  likely  to  be 
specially  expensive.  My  landlady  must  have  been  a  beauty  in  her 
day,  though  she  is  very  slatternly  now.  I  scarcely  ever  saw  more 
finely  chiselled  features.  She  comes  in  in  the  morning  with  ray 
coffee,  and  wishes  me  Guten  Morgen  !  in  such  a  merry  tone,  and 
always  gets  my  name  wrong,  sometimes  making  it  Herr  Brie, 
s>metimes  Brae,  or  Brahcy,  or  even  Brass,  and  always  apologizing 
in  a  compassionate  way,  as  if  the  men  were  to  be  truly  pitied  who 
were  forced  to  have  such  unchristian  names. 

I  nearly  always  induce  her  to  stop  and  chat,  and  being  of  rather 


123  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


a  speculative  turn,  she  is  very  fond  of  putting  knotty  theological 
points  to  me ;  which  if  I  cannot  solve,  I  avoid,  by  taking  refuge  in 
my  bad  German — a  sufficient  excuse  to  her  for  any  amount  of  igno- 
rance. She  is  the  best-natured  creature  in  the  world,  and  of 
course  never  has  anything  done  in  time  ;  never  keeps  any  engage- 
ments, and  lets  everything  run  at  loose  ends.  I  have  saved  her 
conscience  a  great  load  by  taking  all  our  accounts  and  keeping  them 
myself;  paying  her  some  weeks  ahead,  to  keep  her  out  of  debt. 
She  has  a  very  pretty  daughter,  who  keeps  my  room  neatly,  so  that 
I  am  satisfied ;  though  I  must  say,  her  utter  unpunctuality  is  very 
provoking ;  and  perhaps  it  is  quite  as  much  so,  that  I  am  entirely 
cut  off  from  scolding !  A  man  must  be  proficient  in  a  language 
if  he  would  scold  well,  and  I  cannot  do  it.  Long  words  and  book 
phrases  will  not  serve,  and  I  do  not  know  Berlin  slang,  and  could 
not  conscientiously,  even  if  I  knew  how,  swear  in  German.  Per- 
haps my  looks  and  terrible  English  ejaculations  and  impatient 
German  do  as  well,  as  she  always  at  once  beats  a  retreat  with  a 
half  comic,  half-terrified  look  when  I  commence.  Her  own  manners 
and  those  of  the  children  are  very  pleasant ;  they  never  enter  or 
leave  the  room  without  a  bow  and  salutation  to  me.  The  husband, 
who  is  a  tailor,  has  far  more  the  bearing  of  a  courtly  gentleman, 
than  most  of  our  cultivated  men,  and  always  raises  his  hat  when 
he  meets  me  in  the  street. 

I  notice  a  similar  peculiarity  through  all  classes.  In  the  restau- 
rante,  if  a  gentleman  takes  a  place  at  the  same  table,  it  is  always 
with  a  bow  ;  if  he  reaches  over  for  the  paper  you  have  finished,  he 
uses  some  half  apologetic  expression,  "  Ich  bittef"  The  shopkeeper 
gives  the  morning  salutation  as  you  come  in;  and  says  "Empfehle 
mich  !"*  as  you  leave.  No  one  enters  an  omnibus  or  a  railway 

*  "  I  recommend  myself,"  the  almost  universal  formula  in  Berlin  for 


LIFE    IN    BERLIN.  123 


carriage  without  saluting  the  others.  I  have  seen  now  many  classes 
of  the  Germans,  from  thj  Handwerksbursch  (apprentice)  on  his 
travels  and  the  soldier  iu  the  camps,  to  the  highest  literary  people, 
and  I  find  through  all,  this  "  humanity'1''  as  the  Latins  used  to  call 
it ;  this  open-hearted,  pleasant,  human  way,  as  if  men  were  really, 
without  any  poetry,  "  members  of  the  same  family."  Men  in  the 
lower  classes  do  kindnesses  for  you,  and  neither  claim  nor  accept 
the  "everlasting  shilling,"  as  in  England.  In  a  rail-car  or  public 
conveyance,  people  talk  of  their  own  private  matters  as  if  it  was  a 
thing  of  course  that  other  persons  would  take  an  interest  in  them. 

Something  of  my  impressions  may  be  due  to  visiting — one  of  the 
most  unselfish  forms  of  human  life — still  there  is  much,  which  can- 
not be  accounted  for  in  that  way.  The  politeness  too,  seems 
genuine.  It  does  not  burden  you  ;  or  make  you  feel  that  you  are 
impolite,  or  appear  as  if  it  were  worn  for  the  occasion.  It  is  a  part 
of  every-day,  habitual  life.  Not  a  politeness,  expressing  itself 
in  grimaces  and  bows ;  or  fearing  openness  and  downright  words  iu 
others ;  but  a  quick,  almost  unconscious  respect  for  others  as  men, 
which  speaks  constantly  in  German  manners. 

I  have  asked  an  English  groom  the  way  in  the  streets  of  Lon- 
don, and  been  told  iu  answer  "  How  the  h — 11  should  I  know  ?" 
An  American  workman  would  tell  you  very  clearly — but  in  a  fever 
of  impatience  at  being  stopped.  A  German  stands — says  to  you 
with  a  half  bow,  "  Be  good  enough  to  take  the  second  street,"  etc., 
and  touches  his  hat  as  he  goes,  which  is,  perhaps,  a  little  too  much 
of  a  virtue,  and  yet  is  a  very  pleasant  thing.  . 

I  notice  that  there  is  one  expression  of  deference,  which  neither 
the  Germans  nor  the  English  often  use,  but  which  is  almost  univer- 

parting,  where  adieu,  is  not  used.  The  old  German  expression,  "  Leben  Sie 
•yohl."  (Farewell !)  is  seldom  heard,  except  between  intimates. 


SOCIAL   LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


sal  with  Americans.  I  mean  the  word,  Sir  !  Mein  Ilerr,  (Sir),  is 
seldom  heard  in  Germany,  except  from  servants  or  inferiors,  and  is 
considered  slavish  between  equals. 

In  genera],  the  contrast  in  manners  between  our  lower  classes  and 
the  European,  is  very  striking.  It  has  often  surprised  me.  The 
cultivated  classes,  in  that  respect,  are  very  nearly  the  same,  the 
world  over.  But  why  a  poor  man,  or  an  uneducated  man  with  us, 
should  be  so  much  less  polished,  than  one  in  the  same  position  in 
the  old  world,  I  have  never  been  able  to  explain. 

I  used  formerly  to  think  it  was  a  natural  result  of  our  new  so- 
ciety, not  softened  as  yet  by  the  appliances  and  influences  of  an  old 
civilization.  But  I  have  seen  the  manners  and  courtesy  of  the  most 
complete  gentleman  in  a  Hungarian  cattle-driver,  whose  whole 
civilization  had  not  carried  him  above  undressed  sheep-skins  and 
half-cooked  meat.  It  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  we  are  not  natu- 
rally a  grumbling,  or  whimsical,  or  domineering  race,  like  the  Eng- 
lish ;  or  a  strict  and  pragmatic  people,  like  the  mass  of  the  Scotch. 
We  seem  to  have  in  our  character  all  the  elements  of  high  courtesy, 
fearlessness,  generosity,  kindness — yet  few  of  us  are  habitually 
courteous. 

The  causes  begin  early — manner,  expression  of  any  feeling  is 
laughed  at  in  childhood;  later  in  life  it  is  called  a  humbug;  and 
afterwards  in  the  gigantic,  absorbing  plans  and  pursuits  of  our  Ame- 
rican society,  so  small  a  thing  as  manners,  or  the  promotion  of 
others'  happiness  in  these  petty  ways  is  altogether  lost  sight  of  and 
neglected. 

As  though  feeling  could  grow  where  its  expression  is  always 
pruned,  and  as  though  all  our  grand  outward  success  were  worth 
anything,  if  there  be  a  basis  in  home-life  of  cold,  unsocial,  disagreea- 
ble intercourse. 


POLITENESS.  125 


The  type  also  of  religious  character  most  reverenced,  and  very 
naturally  so  among  us,  has  not  included  courtesy  as  one  of  its 
traits.  "We  have  forgotten  the  old  patriarch,  with  his  simple 
hospitality  and  native  courtliness ;  and  Paul,  who  could  "  become 
all  things  to  all  men,"  and  have  taken  to  ourselves  as  a  model  the 
severe,  ascetic,  form-hating  Puritan.  A  character  whose  faults  men 
have  caught  but  too  easily,  but  whose  grand  and  massive  virtues 
become  more  rare  each  day.  There  is  a  feeling  too  among 
our  sturdy  farmers  and  Western  "  boys,"  that  any  courtesy  is  un- 
manly. A  feeling,  boyish  as  it  is,  connected  with  our  old  English 
gruflhess  which  we  have  inherited.  If  Kossuth  has  done  nothing 
else  in  this  country  than  show  that  a  tact  and  politeness,  like  a 
woman's,  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  strength  of  an  indomitable 
manhood,  he  has  not  been  without  his  use  to  us. 

There  is  something  higher  in  Politeness  than  Christian  moralists 
have  recognised.  In  its  best  forms  as  a  simple,  out-going,  all-per- 
vading spirit,  none  but  the  truly  religious  man  can  show  it.  For  it 
is  the  Sacrifice  of  self  in  the  little  habitual  matters  of  life — always 
the  best  test  of  our  principles — together  with  a  Respect,  unaffected 
for  man,  as  our  brother  under  the  same  grand  destiny.  In  its  lower 
and  more  common  development  in  every-day  life,  we  have  very  much 
to  learn  of  the  Europeans. 


NOVEMBER  26. 

.  Have  just  called  on  a  family  to  whom  I  had  letters,  and  who  have 
already  been  very  friendly  to  me.  They  are  among  the  first  literary 
people  of  Berlin,  and  are  well  known  throughout  Prussia.  I  found 
them  living  in  the  third  story  of  one  of  these  great  houses.  The 
door  belcw  was  opened  by  a  porter  at  my  ring,  and  then  on  the 


126  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


third  landing,  their  own  door  by  their  servant.  They  occupy  only 
four  or  five  rooms,  and  keep  but  one  servant. 

The  sitting-room  is  more  filled  up,  with  various  objects,  than  is 
usual  in  Germany.  There  are  some  exquisite  ornaments,  in  plaster, 
scattered  about,  mostly  casts  from  antiques  in  the  classical  Museum  ; 
a  very  much  more  tasteful  mode  of  beautifying  a  room,  for  a  man 
of  limited  means,  than  laying  out  all  his  money  on  one  or  two  pieces 
of  expensive  and  second-rate  statuary.  Few  of  us  can  afford  to  buy 
really  good  statuary,  or  fine  paintings.  Why  cannot  our  American 
housekeepers  learn  that  good  engravings  are  a  better  ornament  to  a 
room,  than  poor  paintings  in  gilt  frames  ;  that  flowers  set  off  a  win- 
dow better  than  tawdry  curtains ;  and  that  casts  of  something  truly 
graceful,  or  objects  with  a  real  meaning  are  worth  all  your  second- 
hand marble  nymphs,  gaudy  mirrors,  or  gilded  cornices.  They  re- 
ceived me  this  evening,  as  they  always  do,  cordially  ;  not  so  much, 
I  think,  because  I  was  a  foreigner — for  the  Berliners  see  as  much 
foreign  society  as  native — but  because  I  was  a  friend  of  their  friends. 
I  had  found  previously  that  they  were  royalists  ;  and  this  evening 
\ve  fell  into  a  spirited  discussion  on  our  political  creeds,  which  may 
have  some  interest  to  my  American  readers. 

Men  need,  they  urged  in  the  course  of  the  argument,  a  central, 
definite  object  for  their  reverence  and  obedience.  In  a  Republic, 
there  is  no  reverence  for  government ;  no  moral  tie  to  the  centre  ;  it 
is  merely  the  bond  of  interest.  There  can  be  no  loyalty  to  a  Presi- 
dent ;  he  is,  according  to  your  own  definitions,  the  "  servant  of  the 
people  ; "  and  not  always  chosen  because  he  will  be  the  best  servant. 
You  tell  me  that  your  best  Statesmen  are  seldom  Presidents.  All 
that  is  most  poetic  and  noble  is  excluded  from  such  a  form.  The 
only  Government,  resembling  God's,  is  a  Monarchy. 

"  We  love  our  king,"  said  they ;  and  their  voices  quivered  with 


ROYALISTS.  127 


emotion,  as  they  spoke  of  the  present  chances  of  his  being  driven 
into  exile.  "  Where  he  goes,  we  will  go  !" 

I  could  hardly  realise,  as  they  talked,  that  I  was  conversing 
with  persons  of  the  present  age ;  it  seemed  as  if  I  were  among 
the  loyal  cavaliers  and  ladies  of  chivalric  times.  Yet  these  were 
people  of  the  highest  cultivation,  and  accustomed  to  think  on  all 
subjects. 

I  have  an  unconquerable  tendency  to  take  in  my  own  mind,  the 
stand-point  of  the  persons  I  am  with,  and  on  this  occasion  I  was 
deeply  impressed  with  the  earnestness  and  the  poetic  tone  of  their 
views,  so  that,  though  I  battled  stoutly  for  Republicanism,  I  was 
a  little  blinded  to  the  wrong  of  their  opinions.  I  forgot  for  the 
time,  that  it  is  such  theories  among  the  cultivated  and  noble- 
hearted,  which  have  helped  to  deliver  over  the  forty  millions 
of  Germany  to  the  blind  caprice  and  heartless  tyranny  of  twenty  or 
thirty  as  weak  and  inefficient  and  unprincipled  men,  as  have  ever 
disgraced  humanity. 

I  said  in  reply,  that  none  of  us  in  America  considered  our  Govern- 
ment any  the  less  "  from  God,"  or  any  the  less  an  object  of  love  and 
reverence,  than  they  their  Monarchy.  We  believed  it  to  be  the 
form  especially  springing  from  the  wants  and  the  nature  of  devel- 
oped man,  and  thus' directly  from  God.  We  believed  God  had 
thus  far  guarded  it  in  its  outward  growth  ;  and  we  loved  it — would 
die  for  it,  not  as  impersonated  in  any  one  imperfect  ruler,  but  as 
expressed  in  the  institutions  it  forms,  and  the  fruits  it  everywhere 
bears  amongst  us.  Even  if  we  were  sure  of  finding  the  "  best  pos- 
sible man,"  to  impersonate  Government,  and  to  rule  us  without  check, 
we  still  would  prefer  our  system.  Our  creed  was  that  the  highest 
development  of  humanity  is  insured  by  leaving  the  greatest  possible 
liberty  to  individual  development.  And  that  under  a  few  limitations, 


128  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


it  would  more  and  more  be  found  true  in  our  country,  that  the  best 
government  is  that  which  governs  least;  until  the  good  time  comes 
on  the  earth  when  all  outward  government  ceases,  and  the  only 
checks  on  human  intercourse  are  the  Love  and  Principle  of  the  indi- 
vidual man. 

All  which  and  a  great  deal  more  of  a  metaphysical  and  transcen- 
dental kind,  I  leave  to  the  imagination  of  the  reader,  picturing  an 
argument-loving  American  and  a  philosophical  German  sitting  late 
at  night  over  mugs  of  Bavarian  beer,  and  some  genuine  German 
mystifying  tobacco. 

A  warm  shake  of  the  hand  when  it  was  over,  "  Schlafen,  Sie 
recht  wohl  und  Jcommen  Sie  bald  wieder!"  and  I  returned  to  my 
lodgings. 


I  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  here  from  a  letter  which  I  received 
after  I  Jeft  Berlin,  as  farther  showing  the  feelings  of  the  Royalists, 
and  the  open-hearted  German  manner  to  a  stranger.  It  is  from 
Madame ,  who  will  pardon  the  freedom  for  the  object  in- 
tended. 

BERLIJT. 

"I  thank  you  very  much,  lieber  Herr  B.,  for  the  friendly  sympa- 
thy which  you  have  retained  for  us  in  the  distance.  Take  with  you 
our  most  cordial  (innigsten)  wishes  into  your  Fatherland;  and 
think  whiles  of  the  old  custom  of  our  dear  Germany,  that  those 
who  have  once  grasped  hands,  do  not  again  forggt.  Do  not 
let  yourself  be  disturbed,  if  neither  I  nor  my  husband  answer  your 
letter  as  it  deserves.  We  stand  before  great  events.  The  Lord 
hath  not  yet  torn  aside  the  curtain.  It  will  soon  be  shown  whether 


A    FAREWELL.  129 


elevation  or  ruin  is  our  fate.  One  of  either  must  happen ;  and  as 
the  heart  of  our  dear,  dear  king  is  moved,  so  is  the  destiny  of  our 
Fatherland  determined.  Without  the  Hohenzollern  there  is  for  us 
no  power  and  no  respect  on  earth.  "  With  God  for  king  and  father- 
land ! " 

"  A  Republic  is  something  great  and  noble.  The  history  of  the 
ancients  teaches,  indeed,  that  it  has  Tyranny  as  a  companion,  and 
ruin  as  its  bequest.  To  me  is  a  Republic  like  a  beautiful  woman 
full  of  glorious  gifts,  but  without  soul,  like  the  lovely  fable  of 
Undine.  *  *  * 

"  You  will  not  laugh  at  a  woman's  truth,  if  she  tells  you,  that 
sometimes  there  is  no  pleasure  like  subjection. 

"  God  grant  his  blessing  on  you !  If  you  on  the  sea  or  on  the  soil 
of  your  fatherland  have  any  desire  to  greet  us,  do  it  certainly,  and 
my  husband  and  myself  will  thank  you  ! "  And  the  husband  adds 
in  a  postscript,  "  On  the  last  day  of  your  stay  in  Germany,  receive 
our  hearty  greetings  and  wishes  for  your  happy  home-return.  You 
will  now  be  able  to  imagine  how  dear  one  can  hold  Germany,  with 
all  its  wants  and  confusions.  Think  of  us  friendly  the-other-sida 
the  ocean." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A    BERLIN    DINNER-PARTY. 

"  ICH  bitte,  mein  Herr  !  nehman  Sie  Platz  !  Der  Herr  Geheim- 
rath  erwartet  Sie  ! "  "  Take  a  seat,  sir,  please  !  His  honor,  the 
Geheimrath,  is  expecting  you  ! "  said  a  respectable  looking  German 
servant,  as  he  threw  open  the  doors  of  a  handsome  parlor  for  me. 
Der  Herr  Geheimrath,  or  in  every-day  language,  Mr.  C.  was  a  Ber- 
lin gentlemen. in  comfortable  circumstances,  who  had  formerly  been 
in  political  life.  I  found  him  living,  like  most  of  the  aristocratic 
people  in  the  city,  way  up  in  the  top  of  one  of  the  great  houses.  I 
had  entered  through  a  large  portal,  the  door  of  which  was  opened 
by  a  porter,  in  a  story  above,  with  a  wire  and  pulley.  Each  story 
was  occupied  by  a  separate  family,  and  I  could  see  from  the  names 
above  their  bells,  by  persons  of  high  rank.  None  of  the  stair-ways 
had  any  carpeting  on  them,  but  the  material  was  rich-looking,  ap- 
parently varnished  oak  in  inlaid  figures,  and  the  banisters  gilded. 
The  walls  in  the  hall  were  broken  up  by  oval  compartments,  in  which 
were  pretty  little  colored  designs  of  faces  or  figures,  in  the  classic 
style,  and  were  ornamented  with  arabesque  borders-rail  having  a 
rich  and  massive  air,  and  entirely  different  from  our  own  style  of 
ornament. 


FURNITURE.  131 


Mr.  C.'s  drawing-rooms  were  truly  German  again.  High,  cheer- 
ful rooms,  with  painted  ceilings,  light  curtains,  many  objects  of  Bo- 
hemian glass-ware,  and  vases  of  flowers  scattered  around ;  but  no 
carpet  on  the  polished  parquette  oak  floor,  and  no  heavy  articles  of 
furniture.  On  the  whole,  tasteful  and  airy,  but  somewhat  bare  com 
cared  to  English  rooms. 

Mr.  C  entered  soon,  and  we  fell  into  pleasant  conversation.  In 
the  course  of  it,  I  said  something  about  this  mode  of  occupying  each 
an  etage  or  story,  and  asked  him,  whether  it  was  general  ?  He  re- 
plied, that  there  were  not  half-a-dozen  families  in  the  city  who  leased 
a  whole  house.  The  houses  had  been  originally  built  of  a  large 
size  by  Frederick  the  Great  to  fill  up  the  space,  and  since  that  all 
who  built  had  followed  the  same  style.  It  was  much  cheaper,  too, 
for  each  family,  "  and  we  Germans  you  know,"  said  he,  "  have  not 
the  objection  of  you  English  to  living  all  in  the  same  house  toge- 
ther. It  seems  more  gemuthlich  !  "  * 

I  thought  then  and  I  have  often  thought  since  in  our  large  Ame- 
rican cities,  as  I  have  seen  the  immense  burden  of  rents  on  young 
business  men,  how  convenient  and  pleasant  such  an  arrangement 
would  be  with  us.  .For  a  man  with  family,  a  boarding-house  is  the 
last  residence  to  be  desired.  And  yet  there  is  no  other  resort  in 
our  great  cities,  under  these  exorbitant  rents.  In  this  Berlin-mode, 
each  family  can  be  private,  carry  ou  its  own  house-keeping ;  and 
yet  need  not  be  at  much  more  expense  than  in  a  respectable  board- 
ing-house. 

The  more  I  see  of  the  middle  classes  in  Berlin,  the  lawyers,  pro- 
fessors, merchants,  <fec.,  the  more  I  am  surprised  at  the  economy 
shown  everywhere.  Hamburgh  seems  luxurious  by  the  side  of  it. 

*  I  cannot  translate  this  word,  though  "  cosy ';  comes  near  it.  in  this  place, 
except  that  gemuthlich  expresses  something  higher — something  of  feeling. 


132  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 

}To  Louse  with  carpeting;  and  few  with  rich  furniture  even.  A 
family  seems  seldom  to  have  more  than  two  servants.  In  some 
houses  of  wealthy  merchants,  I  have  seen  the  dining-room  furnished 
with  beds  in  curtained  alcoves,  so  shortened  are  they  for  room. 
And  in  nearly  all,  some  of  the  sitting-rooms  are  turned  into  bed- 
rooms, as  the  first  thing  with  a  German  is  to  have  a  place  in  which 
to  chat  with  his  frieuds,  and  after  that  where  to  lay  his  head.  I 
see,  too,  that  the  Hamburg  bountiful  dinners  are  not  in  vogue  here  ; 
and  invitations  are  usually  to  supper — a  substantial,  plain  meal. 
Yet  there  is  the  most  constant  and  easy  sociality  everywhere ;  and 
it  is  apparent  at  once  to  the  stranger,  he  is  among  people  of  the 
highest  culture  and  refinement.  Money  seems  to  be*speut  readily 
on  entertainments  in  music  and  art,  and  for 'social  enjoyment;  but 
not  much  on  mere  luxury  or  display.  When  a  Berlin  scholar,  or 
man  of  business  gives  a  party,  he  does  it  in  a  simple,  unexpensive 
way,  generous  enough  in  its  provision,  but  that  not  of  a  very  costly 
kind.  If  he  would  ride  out  with  his  family,  he  quietly  takes  a 
droschky  (hack).  Xone  but  a  few  of  the  superannuated  noblemen 
sport  our  New  York  equipages.  Something  of  all  this  is  due,  with- 
out doubt,  to  the  small  means  of  the  people ;  but  more  to  their  good 
sense.  Towards  the  foreigner,  there  is  less  too  of  outward  hospi- 
tality than  in  other  German  cities ;  but  the  want  is  more  than  made 
up  by  the  lively,  easy,  intellectual  intercourse  into  which  ho  can  be 
admitted ;  and  the  genuine  interest  taken  in  him,  if  he  has  any- 
thing worth  being  interested  in. 

But  to  return  to  my  visit  at  Mr.  C.'s.  There  was  to  be  a  dinner 
party,  and  the  rest  of  the  company  were  gradually  coming  in.  The 
ladies  were  in  full  dress ;  the  gentlemen  had  much  the  same 
appearance  with  any  dinner  company  at  home,  except  that  the  mous- 
taches were  more  common. 


TABLE-TALK.  133 


After  taking  our  ladies  into  the  dining-room,  conversation  com- 
menced at  once. 

"  Sind  Sie  ganz  orientirt  in  der  Stadt  ? "  (Are  you  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  city  ?)  I  find  is  the  most  general  first  question  to 
me,  the  stranger.  That  use  of  the  word  orientirt  was  quite  new  to 
me,  as  it  is  seldom  found  in  books  till  of  late  years.  "  Have  you 
found  your  eastings  ?  taken  your  bearings — known  where  you  are — 
become  familiar  ? "  I  suppose  to  be  the  meaning  and  derivation. 
It  seems  applied  to  almost  everything. 

The  ladies  in  our  chat  were  quite  interested  to  know  whether  all 
the  fine  stories  were  true  about  the  American  gallantry  to  women. 
It  was  the  paradise  for  women,  they  had  heard.  I  told  them  of  the 
universal  attention  shown  them  in  public  places ;  how  a  man  would 
be  thought  "  no  gentleman  "  to  let  a  lady  stand  on  a  steamboat  or 
in  a  rail-road  car,  while  he  occupied  a  comfortable  seat ;  and  that  a 
woman  could  travel  through  our  country  in  safety,  without  an  es- 
cort. They  thought  it  must  be  "  because  there  were  fewer  of  the 
fair  sex," — a  reason  I  indignantly  repelled — whereupon  they  assured 
me  kindly,  they  quite  "  understood  why  the  Americans  were  such  a 
free  and  happy  people  ! " 

It  was  very  apparent  in  this  dinner,  as  everywhere,  how  much 
better  the  Germans  have  the  art  of  enjoyment  than  we.  Of  the 
particular  courses  I  will  not  speak,  as  they  were  much  handsomer 
than  is  customary  in  the  middle  classes,  and  would  be  no  fair  speci- 
men of  Berlin  dinners.  But  the  little  haste  through  it  all ;  the 
variety  of  small  dishes  intended  rather  to  fill  up  the  time  and  sharpen 
the  appetite,  than  to  gorge  the  stomach  ;  and  the  general  air  of  the 
company,  as  met  rather  for  pleasant  converse  than  for  earnest  glut- 
tony, were  all  characteristic  of  this  people,  and  very  unlike  American 
habits.  Everybody  of  course  just  now  is  deeply  interested  in  poli 


134  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


tics.  The  news  has  come  of  a  skirmish  between  the  outposts  of 
the  two  great  armies  of  Austrians  and  Prussians  at  Fulda,  in  Hesse 
Cassel ;  perhaps  the  first  meeting  of  those  opposite  tides  which  shall 
desolate  all  Europe.  The  troops  marching  towards  that  little  province 
are  equal,  they  say,  to  the  armies  of  Napoleon's  time,  in  number. 
In  fact,  since  1815,  Europe  has  not  seen  the  gathering  of  such 
mighty  masses  of  soldiers.  The  Austrian  left  wing,  resting  on 
Frankfort,  numbers  80,000  men,  mostly  Bavarians  and  Wiirtem- 
bergers ;  as  the  king  of  Wiirtemberg  hopes,  it  is  said,  to  have  his 
share  of  the  plunder  when  it  comes  to  the  picking  of  Prussia— in 
the  shape  of  the  Prussian  Rhine  provinces.  The  centre  now  gather- 
ing in  Saxony  and  Bohemia  amount  to  120,000  men,  under  the 
command  of  Radetzky  himself.  On  the  right,  near  the  borders  of 
Silesia,  is  a  body  of  70,000  Bohemians,  who  will  penetrate  the 
passes  of  the  mountains,  occupy  that  province,  and  act  in  co-opera- 
tion with  the  centre.  It  is  probable  150,000  Prussians  will  soon 
be  concentrated  there  likewise. 

The  talk  at. table  is  that  there  are  orders  to  the  Prussian  outposts 
to  withdraw,  from  "  strategical  considerations."  The  only  losses  in 
the  skirmish  were  two  horses.  They  are  describing  too  with  great 
zest  a  picture  in  Kladderadatsch,  (the  German  "  Punch," — a  very 
weak  mixture  by  the  way,)  wherein  the  Prussian  soldiers  are  seen 
marching  grimly  away  from  a  battle-field,  on  which  are  the  corpses 
of  two  horses;  at  the  same  time  all  looking  behind  fiercely  at  the 
line  of  fat,  easy  Bavarians,  and  saying,  "  Aus  strategischen  Riick- 
sichten  (From  strategical  lack-looks,  \.  e.  considerations). 

No  one  can  believe  that  after  this  grand  preparation,  the  king 
will  now  retreat ;  yet  they  notice  that  the  tone  of  tire  Deutsche 
Reform,  the  ministerial  organ,  is  becoming  more  submissive,  and 
that  there  is  a  rumor,  Holstein  will  be  utterly  given  up  to  the  troops 


POLITICS.  135 


of  the  Confederation.  I  can  see  the  idea  of  yielding  to  those  "  beer- 
drinking  Bavarians,"  galls  them  to  the  quick.  There  is  a  considera- 
ble variety  of  political  characters  in  the  company,  one  or  two  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  king  and  attached  to  him  ;  some  of  the 
old  Constitutionalists  who  worked  in  '48  for  a  United  Germany,  and 
who  are  now  becoming  fast  the  most  steady  opponents  of  Govern- 
ment ;  and  a  few  Free-Traders  of  somewhat  democratic  sentiment. 
Yet  they  all  seem  to  have  such  a  love  for  "  poor  Holstein,"  and  they 
relate  many  a  story  of  the  oppressions  going  on  there,  which  I  know 
to  be  much  exaggerated,  though  I  do  not  care  to  tell  them  so. 

It  is  plain,  though  little  is  said,  that  even  the  friends  of  the  king 
are  in  doubt  of  him.  "  No  one  who  does  not  know  him,"  said  one 
in  a  whisper  to  me,  "  should  judge  him.  His  misfortune  is  that  he 
has  too  delicate  moral  perceptions.  He  dreads  the  responsibility  of 
a  WAR  !  "  I  had  little  doubt,  in  my  own  mind,  that  he  dreaded 
much  more  rousing  up  the  Democratic  spirit  in  such  a  struggle — 
which,  perhaps,  afterwards  neither  he  nor  any  ruler  in  Germany 
could  put  down. 

I  have  never  been  in  a  literary  circle  before,  where  there  were  not 
some  intellectual  dilettantists,  men  who  pride  themselves  on  a  phil- 
osophical indifference  to  subjects  which  are  life  and  death  to  the 
masses.  I  do  not  know  whether  this  comes  from  a  want  of  heart  or 
from  cowardice,  but  I  do  know  I  would  rather  meet  the  coarsest 
boor  with  a  meaning  in  Jiim,  than  these  literary  faineants.  There 
were  none  here,  however ;  and  with  all  the  Berlin  persiflage,  I  sel- 
dom heard  any  on  such  subjects.  Men  spoke  of  their  country, 
and  her  future  with  an  expression  of  pain,  as  of  the  disgrace  of  a 
friend. 

At  the  close  of  the  dinner,  we  all  returned  to  the  drawing-room 
for  coffee,  where  the  conversation  became  more  general.  There  had 


136  SOCIAL   LIFE   IN   GERMANY 


been  a  great  Panorama,  in  the  city,  of  the  Mississippi,  and  many 
questions  were  put  to  me  about  it.  Nothing  seemed  to  so  arouse 
the  imagination  of  the  ladies  as  the  idea  of  a  "  primeval  forest," 
where  the  trees  were  not  planted.  They  all  lamented,  however, 
that  we  "  had  no  singing-birds  in  our  woods  ! "  I  find  this  idea 
general  in  Europe.  I  told  them  that  I  had  noticed  no  difference 
in  that  respect,  though  in  England  I  had  heard  several  songster?  far 
surpassing  any  of  ours,  except  the  mocking-bird. 

During  the  evening  one  of  the  gentlemen  turned  to  me,  and  said 
in  English,  "  Your  country  will  soon  have  a  different  language  from 
that  which  your  fathers  brought  over  ! "  I  told  him,  I  thought  not. 
Taking  all  our  classes,  there  was  more  pure  English  spoken  than  in 
England  itself.  Of  course  we  should  invent  new  words  in  new  cir- 
cumstances, but  the  old  tongue  would  be  always  ours. 

In  reply,  he  reckoned  up  to  my  discomfiture  the  number  of  words 
added  or  changed  in  America  ;  showed  the  change  in  English  every- 
.where  since  Chaucer's  time ;  alluded  to  the  gradual  variations  which 
came  over  the  classic  languages,  and  thought  English  as  likely  to 
degenerate  as  Latin  or  Greek.  It  was  a  good  instance  of  the  Ger- 
man's learning  and  theorizing.  The  man  knew  far  more  of  the 
technicalities  of  my  language,  than  I  did  myself.  I  told  him,  how- 
ever, that  we  had  one  great  safeguard  for  the  purity  of  the  tongue 
for  all  classes,  which  the  Romans  did  not  have — our  old  Saxon 
Bible. 

He  allowed  that,  and  said  that  it  was  equally  the  case  in  Ger- 
many. "  There  is  no  German  like  those  plain,  strong  words  in 
Luther's  translation." 

As  we  were  upon  the  subject,  I  took  the  liberty  of  "asking  him 
whether  some  of  the  purists  there,  were  not  fearful  of  their  own  lan- 
guage ?  For  of  all  disagr^eabh  medleys,  the  modern  conversational 


MODERN    NOVELS.  iy» 

.  ^ 

German  seemed  to  me  the  woret.  "  You  have  only  to  add  an  iren 
to  a  foreign  word,  and  it  becomes  German ;  and  near  half  your 
words  seem  of  that  kind,  amusiren,  discursiren,  and  a  thousand 
others ! " 

lie  quite  agreed  with  me.  I  told  him,  also,  how  few  vigorous 
terse  writers  I  found  on  political  subjects  among  the  modern  au- 
thors ;  and  that  Bulan  seemed  to  me  the  only  one  who  could  at 
all  compete  with  our  essayists  in  style. 

"  It  is  too  true,  alas  ! ''  said  he  ;  "  we  Germans  seem  to  have  lost 
vigor  of  words  as  well  as  of  character,  of  late  years." 

In  colloquial  language,  nothing  will  so  utterly  surprise  the  stranger 
— yes,  shock  him — as  the  universal  profanity  among  the  ladies.  In 
the  best  circles  of  Germany,  I  have  heard  more  oaths  in  one  even- 
ing, than  I  would  in  the  same  time  from  a  ship's  crew.  "-Ach  Oott  ! 
Mein  Oott!  mein  Oott!  Jesus  Christus  ! "  rung  over  and  over 
at  the  veriest  trifles. 

It  was  some  time  before  I  could  accustom  myself  to  it.  Of 
course  •  the  words  have  no  irreverent  sound  to  them,  and  are 
used  like  the  French  "  Mon  Dim  !  "  still  how  so  foolish  a  habit 
could  have  become  so  general  among  sensible  people  surprises  one. 

It  is  singular  in  the  usual  literary  conversation,  how  little  is 
said  of  modern  German  literature.  Gothe  and  Schiller  are  "  classics" 
now ;  and  Jean  Paul,  is  even  quite  passe,  so  that  few  of  the 
young  people  know  anything  about  him,  except  his  inextricable 
sentences.  This  would  not  be  so  strange,  for  the  great  Teach  ers  of 
a  nation  are  seldom  discussed  in  common  talk  ;  but  among  all  the 
many  romances  read,  there  is  scarcely  one  of  the  German.  And  an 
American  is  surprised  to  find  himself  discussing  the  naturalness  of 
Johanna  (Jane)  Eyre's  character,  or  the  morality  of  Bulwer,  or 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


laughing  over  the  remembered  jokes  of  "  Bots?  (Boz)  as  they  call 
him,  just  as  he  did  at  home.  Cooper  and  Irving  I  find  everywhere, 
and  the  children  all  know  "Leatherstocking,"and  the  Indian  Chiefs 
perfectly,  and  have  confident  hopes  of  meeting  him,  if  they  should 
ever  cross  to  the  New  World.  In  fact,  the  English  and  American 
novels  are  the  mode  at  present  in  Germany,  and  there  has  scarcely  ap- 
peared one  of  any  worth  for  several  years  without  being  speedily  trans- 
lated into  German.  But  the  foreign  work,  which  of  all  others  has 
been  read  most  eagerly  by  thinking  men  in  Germany  these  late  years, 
and  which  is  exerting  a  most  happy  influence,  is  Macaulay 's  His- 
tory of  England.  And  if  Macaulay  never  does  any  other  good 
through  it,  than  what  is  effected  in  this  land,  he  will  have  accom- 
plished a  great  work. 

It  is  almost  the  first  instance  to  the  Germans,  of  history  made 
dramatic;  #nd  in  its  exposition  of  the  English  Constitution,  and  its 
vivid  account  of  the  English  Revolution,  it  is  of  incalculable  benefit, 
and  singularly  appropriate  to  the  present  state  of  Germany.  It  is  a 
new  thing  too,  to  the  Germans,  to  see  in  union  a  genuine  Christian 
belief  and  an  ardent  love  of  Liberty. 

There  is  another  writer  too  of  England,  the  freest,  truest,  most 
earnest  spirit  of  this  century,  whose  influence  seems  to  have  been  as 
great  here  as  in  his  own  country,  or  in  America — DR.  ARNOLD.  It 
is  very  giateful  to  those  who  have  admired  and  loved  Dr.  Arnold  in 
secret,  to  find  that  in  distant  lands  and  under  foreign  languages,  that 
simple,  truthful  spirit,  that  warm  heart,  that  free,  practical,  reverent 
mind  are  equally  known  and  appreciated.  Strange,  how  little  is 
ever  said  of  the  man,  and  yet  how  wide  and  deep  is.his  influence. 

Though  our  American  novels  were  spoken  of  warmly  on  this 
evening,  and  one  or  two  of  our  scientific  men,  the  tone  was  generally 
of  pity  at  our  devotion  to  "  the  practical,"  and  our  neglect  of  the 


MODERN  NOVELS. 


intellectual.  "  But  it  must  be ;"  said  one  of  the  learned  gentlemen 
present,  "  it  will  be  long  before  your  people  have  leisure  to  give 
themselves  to  Art,  or  to  any  high  intellectual  cultivation  in  one  di- 
rection. You  must  clear  the  forests  first !" 

I  assured  him  we  were  not  quite  all  "  pioneers,"  and  that  he  must 
remember  the  national  mind  had  thus  far  been  most  applied,  apart 
from  directly  practical  subjects,  to  oratory  and  politics.  In  these,  in 
specimens  of  eloquence  and  in  a  philosophical  understanding  of  po- 
litical questions,  I  thought  our  short  records  would  bear  a  very 
favorable  comparison  with  the  best  of  classic  times.. 

Besides,  with  us  every  man  was  far  more  generally  furnished  with 
information  than  in  Germany.  No  German  ever  knew  much  out 
of  his  particular  line  of  study  or  business.  I  told  him,  I  thought  in 
practical  politics  and  useful  information,  he  would  find  our  "  peasants" 
superior  often  to  his  learned  men.  Though  under  a  severe  temp- 
tation, which  every  American  will  sympathize  in,  I  did  not  gasco- 
nade, and  they  all  listened  courteously.  Indeed,  the  last  thing  a 
German  can  ever  praise  is  "  the  poor  Fatherland ;  "  and  he  is  quite 
too  ready  to  believe  anything  good  of  other  countries.  "Yes — yes — 
die  Zukunft  ist  fur  Sief — The  Future  is  .for  you !"  said  they 
gloomily. 

"  Society  is  worn  out  here.  Perhaps  Europe  is  to  become  like 
Asia.  But  you !  everything  is  before  you*! "  and  as  I  wished  them 
"good  evening,"  the  ladies  assured  me,  if  they  ever  were  exiled 
from  the  old  Fatherland,  they  would  remember  first  our  American 
gallantry  to  the  weaker  sex. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

THE    GERMAN    PASTOR. 

I  WENT  out  on  a  Sunday  lately  to  a  pretty  modern  church  in  the 
Tkiergarten,  (the  great  park  of  Berlin,)  where  Buchsel  preaches. 
The  church  is  very  fashionable,  and  almost  the  only  one  in  the  city 
•which  has  a  full  congregation  on  the  Sabbath.  There  were  several 
handsome  equipages  of  the  nobility  at  the  doors  as  I  came  up.  I 
noticed  that  most  of  the  pews  within,  had  plates  with  the  owners' 
names  upon  them,  and  that  each  family  had  its  own  key.  The 
whole  arrangement  within — ornament,  seats,  &c.  were  modern,  much 
like  those  in  our  best  Episcopal  churches.  There  were  candles 
burning  at  the  altar.  Mr.  Buchsel  is  a  very  simple,  effective  preacher, 
but  exceedingly  conservative  and  devoted  to  the  Government.  His 
sermon  was  a  beautiful,  heart-felt  discourse,  on  the  "  signs  of  the  < 
times."  He  deplored  this  "  Brother  war  " — this  strife  of  German, 
with  German ;  spoke  feelingly  of  the  dark  days  which  had  come  to 
their  beloved  Fatherland ;  of  the  dangers  threatening  Prussia,  and 
the  death  of  the  firm,  true-hearted  old  soldier,  Count  Brandenburg, 
a  member  of  his  church,  who  might  have  done  so  much  to  avert 
these  evils.  These  were  judgments  on  the  country  for  its  atheism 
and  irreligion ;  still  it  was  every  Prussian's  duty  to  go  forth  in  the 
strength  of  God  into  this  war,  on  which  their  very  existence  as  a 


A  WALK.  ui 

nation  depended,  and  He  would  be  with  them  in  their  just  cause. 
As  I  went  out,  I  fell  into  conversation  with  a  theological  student, 
who  was  just  going  to  be  "  licensed  "  as  a  preacher,  but  before  he 
had  passed  his  examen,  was  summoned  to  his  regiment  in  the 
army  !  He  was  sorry,  he  said,  yet  he  went  forth  feeling  "  it  was  a 
war  for  the  Lord  ! " 


I  felt  desirous  to  see  how  a  Pastor  lived  and  worked  in  Germany  ; 
and  a  few  days  after  attending  this  service  in  Mr.  B.'s  church,  I 
took  the  opportunity  to  visit  one  of  the  prominent  clergymen,  to 
whom  I  had  letters. 

Mr.  K.  lives  somewhat  out  of  the  city,  though  still  within  the 
limits,  and  the  walk  to  his  house  is  a  long  one.  We  pass  through 
a  pleasant  part  of  Berlin,  which  is  comparatively  new,  and  where 
this  stucco  on  the  houses,  that  looks  so  rusty  and  crumbly  in  other 
streets,  appears  quite  handsomely.  I  suspect  that  in  a  dry  climate 
and  dusty  situation  the  stucco  never  can  be  made  to  look  well  a 
long  time.  In  Hamburg,  with  its  moist  atmosphere  and  sea-board 
position,  houses  with  this  plaster,  no  older  than  these  in  Berlin,  made 
a  far  finer  appearance.  Our  walk  carries  us  through  one  of  the  large 
city  gates,  with  a  guard-house  on  each  side.  Officers  are  patrolling 
to  and  fro,  prepared  to  search  every  hand-cart  if  necessary,  or  to 
pounce  upon  the  luckless  individual  who  has  no  passport.  There, 
just  beyond  the  gates,  is  the  famous  Royal  iron  foundry,  where  all 
those  beautiful  little  iron  ornaments  which  adorn  the  shop  windows 
of  Berlin  are  made. 

A  part  of  it,  it  will  be  noticed,  is  still  under  the  builders'  hands, 
the  part  which  was  burned  down  by  the  people  in  mere  spite  in 
1848.  Few  such  acts  were  committed  in  that  Revolution ;  and 


142  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


about  this  gate  was  some  very  exasperating  fighting.  Beyond  this, 
we  pass  along  by  the  side  of  the  railroad,  built  almost  solely  to  con- 
nect the  railway  termini,  so  that  in  case  of  emergency  cars  could 
be  sent  from  one  to  the  other  to  convey  troops  from  a  distant  part 
of  the  kingdom.  These  arrangements  .are  now  so  complete  in  Ber- 
lin, that  tens  of  thousands  of  soldiers  could  be  transported  in  a  few 
hours  from  the  most  extreme  provinces  to  the  Capital.  Mr.  K.'s 
house  is  a  plain,  one-story  parsonage,  with  a  pleasant  'ittle  garden 
around  it.  The  church,  a  modern-looking  building,  stands  close 
by  :  I  am  shown  at  once  into  the  "  study,"  which  has  the  somewhat 
unusual  luxury  in  Berlin  of  a  small  carpet  in  the  middle  of  the  floor. 
The  walls  are  lined  with  well-used  books,  showing  from  their  titles 
that  their  owner  has  a  strongly  orthodox  and  Lutheran  tendency. 
There  is  a  very  good  selection  too  of  English  literature  ;  and,  as  one 
almost  invariable  accompaniment  of  every  German  pastor's  equipment, 
must  not  be  forgotten  the  long  Meerschaum-pipe  and  the  bundle  of 
choice  Hamburger  segars  to  offer  to  a  friend. 

Mr.  K.  is  a  man  of  talent  and  accomplishments,  and  could  have 
easily  held  a  position  more  honored  in  other  professions,  and  cer- 
tainly far  more  comfortable.  But  he  evidently  does  not  think  of 
his  circumstances ;  his  heart  is  with  his  work.  And  a  very  con- 
siderable work  it  is. 

The  parish — the  "  Gemeinde" — over  which  he  is  placed,  numbers, 
he  tells  me,  19,000.  Of  these,  be  it  remembered,  every  child  must 
be  baptized,  and,  after  it  has  reached  the  age  of  fourteen,  "  con- 
firmed," or  it  will  be  entitled  to  no  civil  or.  legal  rights.  As  a  pre- 
paration for  the  confirmation,  each  child  must  receive,  instruction — 
Unterrichten — in  religious  subjects  two  hours  a  week  for  two  years, 
from  the  pastor.  It  can  be  imagined  what  a  task  this  imposes. 
One  would  suppose  also,  that  the  funerals  in  such  an  immense  parish 


BERLIN  PARISHES.  143 


would  take  up  a  large  portion  of  his  time ;  but  in  answer  to  my  in- 
quiry he  said,  that  though  he  had  given  notice  that  the  offices  of  a 
clergyman  were  at  the  service  even  of  the  poorest,  such  was  the  in- 
difference to  religious  ceremonies  among  them,  that  out  of  over  500 
funerals  during  the  year  only  about  80  were  attended  by  a  pastor. 
Large  as  this  parish  seems,  compared  to  an  American,  it  is  quite 
small  placed  beside  some  of  the  parishes  of  Berlin.  I  am  acquainted 
with  one  clergyman  who  has  only  one  assistant,  whose  Gerneinde 
numbers  25,000,  £nd  there  is  another  neighboring  to  it  containing 
between  50,000  and  60,000  persons.  Yet  with  all  this,  are  their 
churches  half  empty,  their  weekly  meetings  scarcely  attended,  an.d 
all  church  enterprises  almost  lifeless. 

I  asked  Mr.  K.  how  he  accounted  for  this  extreme  indifference 
among  the  lower  classes  in  Germany  to  religion.  He  thought  it 
the  result,  he  said,  of  the  old  Rationalism,  which  had  now  somewhat 
left  the  educated  classes  and  had  begun  to  work  among  the  lower, 
and  was  producing  an  utter  want  of  faith  in  anything  unseen. 
"  There  was  one  good  aspect  to  it  in  Germany,"  he  thought :  "  there 
was  no  mere  resting  in  forms,  such  as  one  sees  in  England.  There 
were  plenty  of  Sadducees  in  Protestant  (rermany,  but  very  few 
Pharisees  /"  The  class  where  the  purest  religious  feeling  existed 
now,  he  conceived  was  the  aristocratic.  There  was  more  being 
practically  done  now  for  humanity  among  the  nobility  than  in  any 
other  grade  of  society  ;  and  he  described  how  ladies  of  the  highest 
rank,  from  the  Queen  downward,  were  engaged  in  these  enterprises' 
of  the  Innere  Mission,  and  how  they  frequently  left  the  most  ele- 
vated stations  to  join  the  Protestant  institution  of  Diakoninnen 
(Deaconesses)  at  Kaiserswerth,  on  the  Rhine,  and  to  give  up  their 
best  years  to  labors  of  charity.  There  were  not  a  few,  even  then, 
ladies  of  noble  family,  he  said,  working  as  common  assistants  and 


SOCIAL   LIFE  IN   GERMANY 


religious  teachers  in  the  famous  Hospital  for  Females  in  Berlin,  under 

the  superintendence  of  the  Fraulein  von  H ,  herself  a  lady  of 

rank.  The  middle— the  most  intellectual  circles— he  thought  as 
yet  more,  if  not  unbelieving,  at  least  indifferent. 

His  own  efforts  in  his  parish  against  this  indifference  of  the  lower 
classes,  appear  to  have  been  constant  and  very  comprehensive  in 
their  nature.  He  has  mingled  sociably  with  the  people,  and  has 
won  very  considerably  their  confidence ;  and  I  observed  afterwards, 
as  we  walked  out,  that  all  the  little  dirty  children  from  every  quarter 
run  pleasantly  up  to  him  to  get  a  shake  of  the  hand. 

He  believes — in  practice  at  least — in  accompanying  spiritual  re- 
forms with  material.  Accordingly  he  has  built  two  houses,  corres- 
ponding to  the  model  lodging-houses  in  London,  where  healthy 
quarters  are  given  to  the  poor  at  a  low  rent.  Besides  these,  there 
are  some  other  lodgings  now  being  built,  where  he  hopes  he  can 
furnish  two  rooms,  comfortable  and  dry,  for  about  half  a  thaler  (36 
cents)  a  week.  In  addition  to  this,  a  savings'  society  has  been  estab- 
lished in  the  Gemeinde,  where  the  poor  once  a  week  deposit  their 
money,  and  receive  it  in  return  at  the  end  of  the  season  in  fuel  or 
provisions,  furnished  to  them  at  wholesale  prices,  by  which  the  im- 
mense loss  of  buying  at  retail  price  is  saved  the  laborer,  and  the 
temptation  to  spend,  lessened. 

Is  it  noticed  how  in  all  the  best  charities  of  Europe,  that  grand 
principle  of  Socialism  is  applied,  of  combining,  in  order  to  produce 
.certain  advantages  to  the  laborer  which  shall  not  bear  after  them 
the  bad  effect  of  mere  charities  1 

The  above  labors  would  seem  to  be  quite  enough  for  one  man  to 
perform.  They  are  only  a  small  part,  however,  of  w'hat  Mr.  K.  has 
taken  on  himself.  Twice  a  week  he  or  some  of  his  friends  deliver 
lectures  before  a  Mechanics'  Society,  which  he  has  formed  and  pro- 


A  PASTOR'S  DUTIES.  145 


vided  with  a  library  and  newspapers-  Once  a  month  he  holds  a 
meeting  for  Foreign  Missions ;  twice  for  Home  Missions,  together 
with  divers  religious  meetings  during  the  week,  when  he  can  get  any- 
one to  attend.  Then  he  has  formed  among  them  a  "  Society  for  the 
Sick,"  the  members  of  which  devote  themselves  to  caring  for  the  sick 
of  the  parish  ;  a  "  Temperance  Society,"  to  work  against  the  use  of 
brandy,  (not  wine)  ;  a  "  Business  Society,"  whose  duty  it  is  to  pn> 
vide  work  for  the  poor  sewing  women  and  weavers  out  of  employ. 
In  addition  to  these,  by  great  exertion,  a  society  has-been  formed  to 
seek  out  the  workmen  who  have  fallen  into  difficulty,  and  to  advance 
them  money,  without  interest ;  and  also  another  to  take  charge  of 
infant  schools,  of  which  there  are  three  in  the  parish.  It  must  not 
be  supposed,  all  these  societies  are  managed  in  the  effective  way  they 
are  with  us.  There  is  little  "  voluntary"  work  among  them.  Mr. 
K.'s  energy  is  probably  the  only  thing  which  supports  and  keeps 
them  alive.  Still  they  accomplish  something,  and  will  undoubtedly 
do  more  and  more.  Besides  all  these  duties  mentioned  above,  there 
are  two  sermons  to  prepare  every  week  for  Sunday,  and  all  the  im- 
mense business  of  such  a  parish  to  attend  to.  To  assist  him  is  one 
curate,  and  from  six  to  twelve  voluntary  co-workers,  who  take  some- 
thing of  the  place  of  our  deacons.  For  such  unceasing,  anxious 
labor,  as  this  must  bring,  Mr.  K.  receives,  reckoning  fees  from  bap- 
tism, confirmation,  and  marriage  ceremonies  as  salary,  about  800 
thalers,  that  is,  not  quite  600  dollars,  and  his  assistant  perhaps 
400  dollars.  He  smiled  at  the  idea,  when  I  asked  if  the  pastor's 
salary  was  ever  increased  by  presents  from  the  congregation,  and 
assured  me  very  few  ever  took  interest  enough  in  the  whole  cause 
to  do  such  things.  These  various  facts  he  did  not  relate  to  me  at 
all  in  any  whining  or  melancholy  way,  but  merely  as  facts  which 
would  be  interesting  to  a  stranger  ;  and  it  was  evident  he  himself 
7 


146  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


was  very  little  conscious  of  his  self-denial,  and  very  little  troubled 
by  his  circumstances  in  any  way. 

I  inquired  in  the  course  of  the  conversation,  how  his  church  was 
first  built.  A  company  of  citizens  in  that  quarter  of  the  city,  he 
said,  came,  together  and  petitioned  for  a  church.  The  King,  in 
reply,  made  inquiries  as  to  whether  they  could  pay  any  part  of  the 
sum  required  ?  They  could  not,  they  said.  Whether,  if  the  church 
was  built,  they  could  in  any  way  endow  it  ?  "  They  were  utterly 
unable  to  do  anything  for  it,"  was  the  answer.  Learning  that  this 
was  the  fact,  he  built  their  church,  endowed  it,  and  thus  became  the 
Patron  of  that  parish,  with  the  power  of  choosing  their  pastor,  and 
what  may  be  called,  the  Presbytery.  I  asked  my  friend  whether  ho 
felt  no  inconvenience  from  thus  being  under  the  patronage  of  the 
King.  "  No,  most  certainly  not?  he  said ;  "  there  could  be  no  bet- 
ter." He  was  left  entirely  free  ;  and  the  Presbytery,  who  aid  him 
in  managing  the  financial  matters  of  the  church,  but  in  nothing  else, 
were  the  very  best  possible  men  who  could  be  found  in  the  parish. 
It  appears,  they  were  selected  with  great  care  by  his  predecessor, 
nnd  approved  by  the  King.  From  what  I  hear,  there  seem  to  be 
three  modes  in  Prussia  in  which  a  pastor  is  appointed  : — by  the 
King,  as  in  this  instance,  where  he  builds  the  church,  or  where  the 
Gemeinde  are  on  the  crown-lands  ;  by  some  nobleman,  who  in  like 
manner  has  founded  the  church,  and  has  the  privilege-,  like  the 
English  nobleman,  of  appointing  his  own  clergyman  to  the  living, 
though  it  should  be  mentioned  here,  with  thankfulness,  that  no 
English  custom  exists  of  letting  out  the  place  to  poor  curates.  The 
third  method  is,  as  in  our  own  churches,  the  selection* -of  the  pastor 
by  the  congregation,  which  privilege  is  allowed  them  where  they 
have  built  their  own  church. 

The  church  of  Mr.  K.  is  comparatively  a  modern-looking  build- 


A    PASTOR'S    DUTIES.  147 


ing,  and  has  the  very  unusual  luxury  among  the  Berlin  churches 
of  being  warmed.  In  fact,  I  know  nothing  in  Berlin  which  gives 
one  a  more  vivid  idea  of  the  indifference  of  the  population  to  reli- 
gious observances  than  the  cheerless,  comfortless  aspect  of  the 
churches.  The  opera  houses  and  concert  rooms  of  the  city  are  all 
of  the  most  cheerful,  comfortable,  modern  style  ;  but  there  are  not 
more  than  two  or  three  of  all  the  churches  where  a  man  can  sit 
through  a  morning-service  without  extreme  discomfort,  and  even 
without  considerable  danger  of  an  attack  of  rheumatism. 

The  situation  and  duties  of  Mr.  K.  would  correspond  very  nearly 
to  those  of  most  German  clergymen^  except  that  as  he  has  been 
some  time  in  England,  he  has  acquired  a  more  practical,  systematic 
mode  of  doing  good  than  most  of  his  brethren.  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  place  is  no  sinecure. 

My  friend's  opinions  on  the  state  of  piety  among  the  upper 
classes,  expressed  in  this  conversation,  are  to  be  taken"  with  great 
allowance,  as  he  was  an  enthusiastic  rcyaliot.  Yet  I  am  disposed  to 
think,  that  in  the  main  he  was  right.  There  is  no  doubt,  that  just 
now,  "  orthodoxy" — evangelical  religion — in  Prussia,  is  fashionable  ; 
that  is,  the  King  and  the  highest  authorities  favor  the  opinions  and 
practices  in  that  direction,  and  this  would  naturally  have  its  influ- 
ence. Indeed,  all  accounts  represent  the  King  as  sincere  in  his 
outward  piety,  and  as  giving  very  substantial  aid — though  rather 
enthusiastically  bestowed  sometimes — to  these  benevolent  movements 
His  manner,  with  respect  to  public  worship,  is  exceedingly  simple. 
I  often  notice  him  on  Sunday,  walking  over  from  the  palace  to  the 
Domkirche  (the  Cathedral)  attended  only  by  a  single  adjutant,  and 
dressed  like  any  other  army  officer,  in  great  blue  overcoat,  buttoned  to 
the  chin,  and  with  the  usual  spiked  helmet.  His  whole  beating 


148  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


also,  during  the  service,  shows  the  same  simplicity,  and  is  very 
reverential  indeed. 

The  practice  of  which  my  friend  spoke,  of  requiring  every  child 
to  receive  so  much  instruction  before  being  confirmed,  is  a  great 
task  upon  the  pastor,  but  it  must  be  of  very  considerable  benefit  to 
the  children.  I  notice  that  the  children  of  my  landlady,  and  in 
other  places  where  I  have  been,  the  children  of  the  lower  classes 
seem  to  set  a  great  value  on  the  pastor's  teachings,  and  read  for 
them  beforehand  and  talk  about  them  afterwards — and  I  presume 
often  they  get  almost  their  only  real  "  instruction"  from  him.  The 
clergymen  themselves  wonder  how  any  land  can  ever  do  without  a 
law,  requiring  religious  instruction.  And  one  of  the  first  questions 
they  ask  an  American,  always  is,  "  How  can  you  be  sure  without  a 
law,  that  your  lower  classes  will  not  grow  up  utterly  irreligious  ?" 

It  is  not  difficult,  generally,  to  explain  to  them  the  immense 
advantage  of  our  "  voluntary  system  ;"  but  they  always  take  refuge 
at  last,  in  the  argument,  that  "  it  may  be  all  very  well  adapted  for 
a  young  country  like  America,  but  it  will  never  do  for  such  a 
society  as  this  here  !" 

I  have  often  asked  them,  whether  there  were  not  some  who  could 
not  conscientiously  make  the  "  Confession  of  Faith,"  required  by 
law  in  order  to  become-  a  citizen.  They  say,  and  I  suppose  justly, 
that  very  few  at  the  age  of  confirmation  (fourteen  years)  ever  have 
interest  enough  in  the  matter  to  be  very  scrupulous.  However,  I 
have  one  friend  whose  family  took  a  more  honest  view  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  brought  themselves  into  very  considerable  legal  difficul- 
ties, by  refusing  to  make  a  "confession"  which  they.could  not  be- 
lieve. They  escaped  annoyance  at  length,  by  joining  the  ''  Freien 
Gemeinden?  (German  Catholics),  though  they  could  not  accept  all 


PETTY   TYRANNY.  149 


the  doctrines  of  this  sect.  Its  very  simple  creed,  they  could  assent 
to,  and  thus  received,  what  at  present  is  a  legal  "  confirmation." 

There  are  cases  of  great  tyranny  under  this  law  for  enforcing 
xBaptism  and  Confirmation.  While  upon  the  subject  I  should  not 
omit  to  mention  one  which  has  attracted  much  attention  recently, 
in  Germany  and  England,  and  which  is  certainly  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  instances  of  petty  tyranny  on  any  police  record. 

It  appears  on  the  3 1st  of  March,  last  year,  a  child  was  born  at 
Seehausen  in  Prussia,  which  the  father  wished  to  be  baptized  under 
the  name  of  "  Jacobi  Waldeck"  each  name  being  that  of  a  distin- 
guished democrat.  The  officiating  clergyman  refused  to  baptize  the 
child  under  such  detested  names.  The  father  was  determined  it 
should  be  baptized  as  a  Democrat,  or  nothing  else,  and  accordingly 
was  letting  it  grow  up  without  the  rite.  Such  a  heathenish  state 
of  things  was  not  to  be  permitted,  and  he  was  summoned  before  a 
court,  and  a  guardian  appointed  to  the  child,  who  was  empowered 
"  to  baptize  it  with  or  without  the  names  desired"  by  the  father, 
according  as  the  Consistory  (of  clergymen)  should  determine.  They 
decided  that  it  should  be  baptized  with  the  "  usual  names."  The 
parents  still  refused  to  send  the  child,  and  the  guardian  was  pro- 
ceeding to  administer  a  forced  baptism,  when  the  mother  with  her 
babe,  suddenly  disappeared,  and  could  not  be  found. 

A  long  search  was  made,  and  at  length  they  were  both  discovered 
by  the  police  in  the  neighboring  village  of  Arendsee.  They  were 
immediately  transported  by  the  gens  d'armes  to  Seehausen  and  put 
into  prison.  From  there,  at  the  command  of  the  Burgermeister, 
the  child  was  taken  by  the  soldiers,  packed  away  in  a  basket,  to  tho 
church,  and  with  closed  doors,  the  Burgermeister  and  gens  d'armes 
as  witness,  it  was  introduced  into  the  great  Christian  family  ;  ani  in 
a  few  minutes  was  carried  back  to  its  surprised  parents  a  thoroughly 


150  SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


laptized  Christian  child!  This  was  not  the  end  of  the  matter. 
The  mother,  says  the  legal  reporter  of  the  Vossische  Zeitung,  "  Iras 
been  summoned  before  the  court,  for  resistance  to  an  officer  of  the 
government,  in  the  lawful  performance  of  his  duty,  and  has  been 
sentenced  to  two  months'  imprisonment"  From  later  accounts,  it 
seems  she  has  appealed  to  a  higher  court,  but  the  sentence  has  been 
sustained ! 

Nothing  has  occurred  for  years,  better  fitted  to  throw  light  over 
the  whole  system  of  laiv  in  Prussia,  and  the  feelings  of  certain  classes 
as  connected  with  it.  Clergymen  so  horrified  at  democratic  names, 
as  to  be  willing  to  baptize  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet !  And  courts 
able  to  decide  what  name  a  child  shall  have,  and  sentencing  a  mo- 
ther to  the  cell  of  the  convlci  for  objecting  ! 


CHAPTER  XYI. 


I  AM  disposed  to  think  Art  has  reached  a  higher  grade  of  cultiva- 
tion in  Germany  now,  than  in  any  other  country.  Of  the  fine  and 
elaborate  school,  we  in  America,  have  had  veiy  good  specimens  in 
the  Dusseldorf  paintings.  But  in  the  grand  and  bold  works,  one 
must  go  to  Berlin  or  Munich,  for  the  masters.  I  know  nothing  in 
modern  painting,  which  can  equal  in  genius  and  boldness,  these 
frescoes  and  paintings  of  KAULBACH  and  CORNELIUS,  'they  are 
the  reaction  of  strong  minds  against  modern  frippery.  Ornament, 
decoration,  gaudiness — are  nothing.  The  thought — the  reality 
they  demand  and  utter  with  uncompromising  sternness.  Beauty  ! 
for  beauty  is  the  highest  expression — but  if  that  is  not  possible,  let 
the  truth  be  bare  and  strong,  is  their  principle.  Not  many  words, 
not  many  lines,'  but  a  few  bold  and  grand  strokes  ! 

An  excellent  specimen  of  their  style,  is  Kaulbach's  "Battle  of  the 
Huns,"  in  Count  Raczynski's  Gallery  in  this  city. 

There  has  long  been  a  tradition  among  various  nations  that  those 
who  perished  in  some  great  world-battle,  in  the  very  moment  of 
fierce  conflict,  met  again  in  fiercer  fight  after  death.  There  is  such 
a  tradition  in  regard  to  a  spirit-battle  bet  ween  Attila's  army  and  the 
Romans.  This  picture  takes  its  idea  from  that  tradition.  The  scene 


152  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


is  a  battle-field,  with  corpses  strown  about,  and  beyond,  the  towers 
and  battlements  of  Kome  rising  in  the  distance.  The  light  is  a 
pale,  cold,  unnatural  light,  like  the  light  of  early  morning.  From 
the  battle-field  the  forms  of  the  dead  are  rising.  They  are  stupe- 
fied, half-unconscious  at  first ;  the  warrior  only  faintly  clasps  the 
sword,  and  the  spearman  can  hardly  raise  the  lance ;  but  as  they 
comprehend  the  strange  scene  above,  they  seem  to  burst  from  the ' 
earth  as  if  into  a  new  existence.  Imagination  never  pictured  or 
scarcely  dreamed  of  such  a  conception  of  motion.  They  do  not  fly, 
nor  are  they  wafted,  but  they  rise  with  a  free,  eager  movement,  as 
if  their*  own  spirit  and  passion  pressed  them  up ;  as  if  they  had 
powers  of  moving  not  possessed  by  man,  or  were  creatures  of  a  new 
element.  Among  the  rising  forms  is  a  woman's,  her  face  to- 
wards Heaven,  and  her  hands  clasped  together  above  her  head. 
The  features  are  hardly  visible,  but  the  outline  of  form  is  the  most 
free  and  graceful,  I  ever  remember  to  have  seen  in  painting.  All 
have  human  features  ;  but  there  are  strange,  fearful  expressions  on 
them,  and  there  is  something  bloodless  and  unnatural  about  them 
all.  Faces  once  seen,  not  easily  to  be  forgotten ;  such  as  one  sees 
in  night-mare  dreams. 

Above  is  passing  a  strange,  terrible  scene.  On  one  side,  moving 
swiftly  on  through  the  air,  is  a  host  of  wild  forms — the  army  of  the 
Huns.  At  their  head,  in  half-oriental  robes,  supported  by  four 
slaves  on  a  shield,  stands  Attila.  He  holds  a  scourge  in  his  hand, 
and  drives  on  before  him  a  crowd  of  fugitives,  who  are  grappling  in 
fierce  fight  among  themselves,  or  are  fleeing  before  him,  and  o.n 
•whose  faces  are  the  most  terrible  expressions  which  The  mind  ever 
dreamed  of;  looks  of  unearthly  wrath,  and  fear,  and  malice,  and 
revenge.  On  the  other  side  are  seen  the  warriors  of  the  Romans, 
with  noble  and  dignified  faces,  but  saddened  and  almost  fearful. 


BATTLE   OF   THE   HUNS.  153 


They  do  not  move  so  swiftly ;  and  they  look  and  point  at  the  cross 
which  is  borne  in  their  centre.  Before  them,  is  their  king  leading 
them  on  as  if  to  desperate  battle  ;  yet  still  with  confidence  appa- 
rently in  the  cross.  Two  timid,  youthful  forms,  his  sons,  are  cling- 
ing to  his  sides.  Far  in'the  heights  of  the  air,  other  forms  are  strug- 
gling, seemingly  in  fierce  conflict,  but  so  mist-like  and  uncertain 
that  one  can  hardly  tell  whether  they  are  shapes  only  of  the  morn- 
ing clouds,  cr  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  Both  armies  appear  to  have 
risen  from  the  field  of  battle,  and  others  are  continually  rising  to 
join  passionately  in  the  strife. 

There  is  no  coloring  scarcely  in  the  picture,  except  a  faint  yellow. 
But  the  outlines  and  expressions  are  bold  beyond  anything  I  have 
ever  seen  in  painting.  The  forms  seems  as  if  they  might  melt  away 
with  the  first  morning  light,  yet  they  are  animated  with  a  passion 
•which  is  almost  superhuman.  I  do  not  believe  throughout  painting, 
such  intense,  absorbing  rage  and  hate  is  pictured  as  in  those  faces, 
and  always  a  passion  which  does  not  seem  to  belong  to  this  life. 

The  first  sensation  before  it  is  almost  of  shuddering.  You  remem- 
ber the  name  which  mankind  gave  in  fear  to  this*  conqueror,  "  The 
Scourge  of  God  ; "  his  own  conviction  that  he  was  sent  by  the 
Almighty  ;  and  the  traditions  even  among  the  Christians  of  his  con- 
nection with  the  Unseen.  And  as  you  gaze  at  the  wild,  dream-like 
picture,  a  feeling  crosses  over  the  mind,  not  easy  to  describe  or  ac- 
count for.  A  glimpse  for  a  moment  as  it  were  into  what  is  not 
of  earth. 


I  have  always  been  much  interested  in  galleries,  in  studying  the 
different  religious  conceptions  of  painters.  The  large  Musaem  gal- 
lery of  Berlin,  though  containing  no  great  works  of  art,  is  excellent 


154  .       SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


for  this  purpose,  as  it  gives  the  best  historical  exhibition  of  painting 
in  Europe,  beginning  from  its  Byzantine  origin,  down  to  the  latest 
Dutch  and  Flemish  masters. 

Jn  the  very  earliest  of  this  collection,  one  finds  little  beauty  of 
coloring  or  gracefulness  of  outline  ;  but  the»e  is  an  intensity  of  fervor, 
an  earnestness  in  their  conceptions  of  the  unseen,  which  puts  at  de- 
fiance all  the  more  refined  'spiritualizing  of  later  masters.  You  are 
very  sure  they  meant  what  they  painted.  And  when  a -drunkard 
in  the  future  world  is  pictured  as  tied  to  two  hideous  devils,  while 
liquid  fire  is  pumped  into  his  mouth  by  another  devil,  you  are  quite 
sure  the  artist's  idea  of  punishment  was  an  earnest  one,  to  say  the 
least.  They  are  very  material,  all  of  them  ;  and  I  have  often 
thought  in  walking  among  these  works  of  theirs,  that  it  would  mako 
a  man  skeptical  to  think  of  them  much.  Still  it  is  a  terrible  mate- 
rialism, the  materialism  of  a  Dante,  or  of  Job  in  his  pictures  of 
Deity.  Every  form  or  image  which  can  convey  a  disagreeable  or 
painful  idea,  is  used  to  represent  the  sufferings  of  the  wicked  in  the 
future  world.  Hideous  toads  are  swallowing  them — serpents  with 
disgusting  humafc  faces  are  winding  themselves  around  them — 
creatures  for  which  there  is  no  countertype,  except  in  the  creations 
of  nightmare,  are  crawling  over  them.  The  revellers  are  having 
their  orgies  over  again  with  lizards,  and  worms,  and  scorpions.  The 
gluttons  are  crammed  with  loathsome  substances.  Others  are  sawed 
and  turned  on  wheels,  and  crushed  and  roasted. 

'  In  their  conceptions  of  future  happiness  they  are  not  so  striking. 
Perhaps  it  is  less  revolting  to  give  material  representations  of  pain 
than  of  pleasure.  One  is  shocked,  too,  to  see  Deity  itself  pictured 
as  a  gray-headed  old  man.  Their  only  heaven  is  an  assemblage  of 
immense  numbers  of  simple  looking  winged  beings,  with  harps  and 
violins  and  hand-organs;  or  rows  of  comfortable  monks  who.  are 


SPIRITUAL    CONCEPTIONS.  155 


saved  by  angels  from  the  abyss  below.  Still  with  all  their  stiffness 
and  bareness  of  coloring,  and  material  conceptions,  there  is  such  an 
evident  fervor  about  those  oldest  masters  of  the  Berlin  Gallery,  such. 
a  devotion,  and  such  an  affection,  that  they  must  ever  be  dear  to 
the  student  of  art. 

When  one  gets  down  as  far  as  Rubens,  the  representations  are 
not  so  much  of  material  torture  as  of  expressions  of  pain,  and  of 
faces  with  demoniac  malice.  Beautiful  female  forms,  with  his  won- 
derful flesh-coloring,  are  clasped  and  hurried  away  by  demons,  who 
look  back  with  that  terrible  scowl  of  malignity  which  Rubens  alone 
can  fully  give  ;  or  faces  are  just  seen  through  the  darkness,  writhed 
in  contortions  of  pain. 

In  nothing  have  all  the  painters  made  so  many  attempts  as  in 
their  picturing  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  in  nothing  have  they 
shown  themselves  so  inferior  in  the  genius  of  expression  to  the  great 
artists  of  language.  Angels  have  again  and  again  been  attempted, 
from  the  beautiful,  intellectual-looking  youths  of  the  Diisseldorf 
school ,  and  the  winged,  Cupid-like  children  for  which  all  the 
painters,  religious  and  profane,  have  such  a  strange  affection,  up  to 
the  abnormal  creatures  of  the  earlier  masters,  composed  only  of 
round  heads  and  large  wings,  but  never  scarcely  in  a  single  instance 
do  they  give  one  the  idea  of  a  spiritual  being — of  a  higher  exist- 
ence under  different  laws.  Perhaps  the  very  appearance  of  wings 
immediately  forces  on  us  the  idea  of  animals  ;  or  perhaps  their  own 
highest  ideal  of  angels  was  of  pure,  happy  children.  Raphael  has  as- 
cended very  high  in  his  ideal  when  he  merely  paints  children  with 
an  expression  of  intelligence  and  affection,  unnatural  to  their  years. 

I  am  not  surprised  that  the  painters  have  thrown  so  much  of 
their  highest  religious  ideals,  into  the  picturing  of  Christ  as  a 
child. 


156  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


It  was,  perhaps,  their  unconscious  thought,  that  God  can  easiest 
touch  the  sin-hardened  heart,  through  the  purity  and  simplicity  of 
childhood.  • 

Of  CHRIST  himself,  no  artist  has  ever  had  even  a  faintly  adequate 
conception.  It  was  some  womanly  monk's  imagination,  not  the 
Bible,  which  has  first  traced  the  effeminate,  sentimental  features, 
that  now  cover  the  canvas  through  the  schools  of  all  ages.  If  those 
pages  picture  anything,  it  is  a  dignified  Manhood  ;  a  character  of 
Strong  and  indomitable  purpose ;  a  nature  filled  indeed  with  bound- 
less affections,  but  capable  of  the  most  sweeping  indignation,  and 
stern  in  inflexible  Truthfulness.  The  Christ  of  the  Bible  is  not  the 
Christ  of  Art. 

Still,  with  all  the  enjoyment  which  I  have  derived  from  European 
Art,  I  must  say,  I  turn  from  it  with  a  sense  of  disappointment.  Not 
alone  from  the  eternal  disappointment  of  the  soul  with  its  ideal ; 
but  I  had  no  thought  that  Painting,  as  an  art  of  "expressing  human 
feelings,  was  so  much  below  the  power  of  expression  in  Words. 
Beside  the  great  Painters  in  language,  the  most  gifted  Artists  are 
poor.  In  all  the  range  of  painting,  there  are  no  lines  of  passion, 
such  as  Shakspeare  draws.  No  such  absorbing,  hopeless  sorrow ; 
ho  such  fierce,  sweeping  passion.  There  are  no  faces  on  the  canvas 
which  are  half  so  noble,  as  those  which  look  upon  us  from  the  pages 
of  Schiller  or  of  Scott. 

There  is  so  much,  too,  of  superficiality,  of  want  of  earnestness 
about  the  best  painting.  Repenting  Magdalenas  are  painted,  and 
you  forget  all  idea  of  the  repentancj  in  the  beauty.  Scenes  of  sor- 
row are  drawn,  and  the  eye  is  caught  and  absorbed*  ju  beautiful 
costume  and  graceful  posture ;  and  the  great  idea  disappears.  Then 
the  greatest  of  artists  have  devoted  their  talents  to  such  ignoble 
subjects ;  to  conceptions  which  only  could  have  arisen  from  a  people 


DEFECTS.  157 


altogether  unmanned  by  luxury.  It  seems  strange — one  can 
hardly  understand  it — that  a  painter  so  gifted  as  Correggio,  could 
employ  his  wonderful  conceptions  of  beauty,  and  his  power  of  soft, 
dreamy  coloring,  to  consecrate  subjects  which  would  disgrace  the 
foulest  page  of  Grecian  mythology,  or  of  modern  French  literature. 
Rubens,  too,  of  grosser  and  stronger  nature,  has  given  too  often  his 
life-like  coloring  and  power  of  vivid  expression  to  scenes  which 
should  have  passed  away  with  the  sickly  imagination  which  gave 
them  birth.  In  truth,  I  have  sometimes  thought  that  these  old 
Grecian  conceptions,  however  much  they  have  embodied  themselves 
in  the  mos't  beautiful  forms  of  art,  have  done  almost  as  much 
evil  as  good.  It  has  needed  centuries  before  Painting  could  break 
loose  from  them ;  and  modern  sculpture  and  the  forms  of  monu- 
mental record,  have  not  even  yet  reached  any  originality  under  them. 

But  it  is  not  alone  mythology,  which  is  searched  for  its  most 
debasing  dreams.  Everything  in  the  Jewish  History,  which  was 
the  fruit  of  a  wild  age ;  every  deed  of  lust  and  blood  and  unna- 
tural crime  which  the  Bible  has  recorded  as  a  warning,  is  worked 
over  and  again,  with  delighted  pencil,  till  the  mind  sickens  of  the 
Art,  which  could  so  revel  in  such  scenes. 

Not  that  painting  should  be  a  hieroglyphic  art.  Beauty  will 
always  have  its  own  wonderful  language — even  if  no  other  idea  be 
expressed — a  language,  telling  of  the  highest  and  most  solemn 
thoughts.  But  Art  can  only  reach  its  highest  point ;  can  only 
compete  with  its  kindred,  Poetry  and  Oratory,  when  the  language 
from  beauty  of  line  and  color  and  shading,  all  unite  in  expressing 
intensely  and  directly  the  one  great  Idea  of  the  painter,  and  that 
idea  is  such  a&  can  thrill  the  noblest  and  purest  feelings  of  the 
human  heart. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


Nov.  1850-1. 

I  HAVE  determined  to  vary  my  winter  in  Berlin,  by  an  excursion 
to  the  other  cities  of  North  Germany.  The  weather  is  very  bad 
now  for  travelling,  as  -it  rains  almost  every  day.  My  objects,  how- 
ever, are  so  much  in-doors,  and  so  little  with  the  usual  "  sights," 
.  it  does  not  trouble  me.  I  have  taken  lodgings  at  once  here  in 
Dresden,  as  being  much  the  quietest  and  cheapest  mode  of  living. 

My  principal  object  was  to  study  Art  for  a  few  days  in  this  quiet 
city,  but  I  find  everything  in  the  greatest  turmoil.  My  readers  will 
remember  that  the  little  Kingdom  of  Saxony — not  numbering  so 
large  a. population  as  the  State  of  New  York — lies  as  a  most  tempt- 
ing bait,  right  between  the  two  great  powers  of  Austria  and  Prussia, 
and  it  has  been  the  jealousy  alone  of  each  toward  the  other,  which 
has  prevented  its  being  swallowed  up  long  ago.  Well,  at  this  pre- 
sent time,  the  King  has  taken  it  into  his  head  to  reverse  the  autho- 
rity of  the  old  Diet,  and  has  allied  himself  with  Austria,  with  whom 
are  also  his  religious  sympathies.  His  people,  who  are  mostly 
Protestants,  sympathize  more  with  Prussia,  but  they  have  been 
obliged  to  yield,  and  the  Saxon  army  has  been  mobilized,  to  give 
their  assistance  to  the  old  Confederation.  As  Saxony  lies  in  the 
direct  line  of  the  Austrians  into  Cassel,  or  of  the  Prussians  towards 


SAXONY. 


Vienna,  there  is  naturally  no  little  fear  that  their  quiet,  inoffensive 
territory  may  be  the  tenible  battle-ground  of  foreign  nations,  as  it 
has  been  so  often  before.  Beside,  the  treasures  collected  by  the  old 
Saxon  Kings  and  placed  here  in  Dresden,  would  be  altogether  too 
great  a  temptation  for  the  most  virtuous  government  of  Europe, 
provided  there  was  once  a  war.  Indeed,  the  jewels  alone  of  the 
Grunc  Gewolbe  (Green  Vaults),  would  pay  the  expenses  of  Prussia 
for  years  to  come.  Accordingly,  everything  of  value  among  the 
works  of  art,  which  can  be  carried  off,  is  being  packed  up  and  sent 
away  to  the  old  fortress,  where  they  rested  so  securely  during  all 
the  fighting  and  plundering  of  Napoleon's  wars — the  fortress  of 
Kbniystein,  on  the  Elbe,  the  only  one  in  Europe  which  has  never 
been  taken — the  old  shelter  of  the  Saxon  Kings  and  Saxon  treasures, 
and  upon  which,  even  the  storm  of  war  in  1812  and  '13  made  no 
impression.  The  whole  kingdom  is  aroused,  and  as  I  came  on  from 
Berlin,  I  could  see  masses  of  troops  all  along  near  the  borders, 
ready  to  beset  the  railroad,  in  case  of  an  attack  of  the  Prussians. 
Through  the  town,  too,  there  is  a  continued  marching  of  companies 
of  "  Jiiger"  or  of  cavalry,  all  attired  for  a  rough  campaign,  on  towards 
the  Prussian  boundaries.  And  beside  these,  horses  and  wagons, 
and  heavy  cannon,  and  an  unceasing  stream  of  straggling  soldiers, 
over  the  old  bridge  so  famous  in  Napoleon's  great  battle  here,  and 
all  the  accompaniments  which  an  approaching  war  brings  with  it. 

It  will  give  an  idea  of  the  weight  which  these  petty  governments 
lay  upon  the  people  in  Germany,  to  examine  briefly  the  statistics  of 
Saxony. 

The  whole  population  of  this  kingdom  numbered  last  year,  (1849) 
1,394,431,  or  about  half  the  population  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
The  total  expenses  of  government  for  the  last  three  years,  have 
amounted  to  about  $5,720,000  per  annum.  Yet  the  whole  civil 


160  '   SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


and  diplomatic  expenses  of  the  .United  States  per  annum,  ara 
only  $7,339,000.  The  annual  duties  and  taxes  amount  to  ov.er 
$3,611,000.  The  public  debt  is  about  $16,830,000.  Before  1 848, 
the  Saxon  army  according  to  the  laws  of  the  German  Confederation, 
numbered  13,000  men,  together  with  6,000  men  in  reserve. 

In  1849,  the  new  Federal  allotments  required  two  to  every  hun- 
dred of  the  population,  so  that  the  regular  forces  reached  the  num- 
ber of  36,546,  and  72  cannon.  Out  of  the  1,894,000  inhabitants, 
more  than  1,857,000  are  Protestants,  and  yet  they  are  saddled  with 
a  Roman  Catholic  Government.  The  old  grandeur  of  Saxony  has 
been  very  much  reduced  in  this  centurv  •  and  the  truly  noble  devo- 
tion of  her  king  to  Napoleon,  during  all  his  calamities,  has  cost  her 
some  of  her  finest  territory,  and  occasioned  in  1814  immense  losses 
to  her  capital. 

I  have  been  surprised  at  the  difference  which  mere  political  situa- 
tion makes  in  the  character  of  a  people.  It  did  not  need  a  day's 
intercourse  with  my  friends  and  acquaintances,  to  show  that  I  was 
among  an  entirely  different  population,  from  what  I  had  seen  in 
Prussia.  Saxony  has  been  a  small,  unimportant  country,  having 
most  to  fear  from  contentions,  and  very  little  to  expect  in  war,  so 
that  gradually  the  whole  nation  has  acquired  a  peaceful,  ease-loving, 
almost  effeminate  character.  National  pride  it  has  not — only  na- 
tional fear ;  and  the  whole  mind  and  strength  of  the  country  have 
turned  to  art  and  quiet  intellectual  pursuits.  The  proud,  manly 
characters  of  the  Prussians,  one  does  not  find  here.  Their  scholars 
do  not,  as  in  Berlin,  interest  themselves  in  political  matters.  They 
"  rather  hide  their  heads  in  their  boobs  and  specimens,"  that  they 
may  not  hear  the  storms  which  are  raging  all  around  them.  Every 
one  you  meet  at  such  a  time  as  this,  is  fearful  or  desponding,  and 
"no  longs  to  inspire  a  little  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  pluck  into  them. 


ARTISTS.  181 


How  constantly  everywhere  in  Germany,  do  the  evils  of  this 
miserable  system  of  little  separate  governments,  come  before  my 
eye  !  It  is  as  if  every  State  iu  our  Union  were  a  distinct  petty  king- 
dom, with  its  own  separate  administration,  its  own  expenses,  its 
own  tyranny  too  and  hold  over  the  people.  All  the  burdens  of  a 
great  government  and  none  of  its  power  !  May  God  preserve  our 
Union  from  ever  splitting  into  the  petty  and  factious  and  inefficient 
Principalities  of  the  German  Confederacy  ! 

As  I  said  before,  everything  was  in  confusion,  and  the  most  valua- 
ble articles  of  vertu  packed  up.  By  good  luck,  they  had  not  begun 
on  their  picture  gallery,  and  through  the  kindness  of  friends  I 
gained  admission  and  have  been  able  to  study  its  beautiful  collec- 
tion every  day.  The  fine  collection  of  plaster  casts,  and  the  tasteful, 
though  rather  meagre  gallery  of  antique  statues,  was  also  untouched. 
I  was  kindly  introduced  also  to  the  ateliers  of  the  various  painters, 
a  cultivated,  really  original  set  of  men.  Theso  artists  are  among 
the  most  celebrated  in  Europe,  though  they  do  not  have  the  mu- 
tual assistance  of  a  school,  to  press  their  pictures  forward,  as  the 
Diisseldorf.  Wherever  I  meet  artists  in  Europe,  I  am  most  pleased 
to  see  that  so  many  are  men  of  earnestness  and  intellectuality — and 
with  noble  ideas  of  their  profession.  And  among  the  continental 
artists,  I  have  certainly  not  found,  that  a  dissolute  life  and  devotion 
to  art,  are  at  all  necessary  companions,  according  to  the  old  pre- 
judice. 

Still  I  may  be  permitted  to  express  the  wish  without  impertinence, 
that  among  men  of  such  generous  purposes,  for  the  sake  of  them- 
selves and  humanity,  and  for  the  sake  of  that  noble  Art,  which  they 
study,  there  ^might  be  a  deeper  religious  character. 
"   Art  is  not,  in  these  days,  fulfilling  its  highest  destiny.     And 


162  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


there  are  means  of  elevating  humanity — not  yet  essayed — which 
belong  alone  to  its  field,  and  which  the  cause  of  Progress  cannot  do 
without.  ..  . 


HESSE-CASSEL. 

December,  1850. 

As  the  Conferences  of  Olmutz  have  just  finished,  and  as  the  Con- 
ferences which  are  to  determine  the  condition  of  Germany  for  the 
next  year,  are  to  be  held  in  Dresden  within  a  few  days,  it  may  be 
proper  here  to  speak  briefly  of  the  matters  in  dispute. 

It  will  be  remembered,  that  during  this  last  year,  there  have  been 
two  German  Unions — the  Austrian  in  the  form  of  the  old  Bund, 
represented  at  Frankfort,  and  the  Prussian,  represented  at  Erfurt. 
The  little  principality  of  Hesse-Cassel  at  first  joined  the  Prussian. 
But  the  Elector,  being  in  want  of  money,  and  not  being  able  to  col- 
lect it  in  a  constitutional  manner,  thought  the  old  Confederacy,  natu- 
rally, more  suited  to  his  purpose,  and  left  the  Prussian  for  the 
Austrian. 

Twice  he  demanded  supplies,  not  permitted  by  the  budget,  and 
the  Chambers  refused  and  were  adjourned.  The  country  was  now 
put  under  martial  law,  though  army  and  officials  and  peoplo  pro- 
tested against  such  an  arbitrary  act.  The  Elector  persevered,  confi- 
dent of  his  game,  and  appealed  to  Austria  for  aid.  ' 

The  people,  on  the  other  hand,  appealed  t6  Prussia,  and  Prussian 
troops  were  marched  in  to  protect  this  member  of  the  separate 
tTnion  (Sonderbund.) 

The  threats  and  bold  bearing,  and  the  sudden  retreat  of  Prussia 
have  already  been  incidentally  mentioned.  Her  present  position  will 


THE    CONFERENCE.  163 


best  appear  from  the  results  of  this  conference  between  Schwarzen- 
berg  and  Manteuffel,  at  Olmiitz,  (November  29,  1850). 

These  are  thus  reported  : — 1.  That  each  government,  together 
with  its  allies,  shall  appoint  Commissioners  to  meet  in  Dresden,  for 
the  final  settlement  of  all  these  difficulties.  2.  That,  in  order  to 
preserve  order  in  Hesse-Cassel,  the  troops  which  the  Elector  may 
call  in,  shall  have  the  Bright  of  passing  over  the  Prussian  military 
roads,  and  that,  for  the  after  preservation  of  law  and  order,  one  bat- 
talion of  Prussians,  and  one  of  Austrians,  shall  be  allowed  to  remain 
in  the  kingdom.  Next,  that  Commissioners  from  each  government 
shall  proceed  to  Holstein  and  attempt  to  induce  the  government  of 
the  Duchies  to  reduce  their  army,  and  withdraw  their  forces  behind 
the  Eyder,  and  also  endeavor  to  persuade  the  Danish  government  to 
send  in  no  more  troops  into  Holstein  than  shall  be  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  the  establishment  of  order. 

These  are  the  principal  points  of  the  agreement.  How  do  they 
compare  with  the  former  claims  of  Prussia  ?  It  will  be  remembered 
the  Prussian  government  has  always  asserted  that  the  old  Union 
did  not  at  all  represent  Germany,  and,  accordingly,  had  no  right  to 
interfere  in  the  affairs  of  a  member  of  the  new  Union  and  an  ally  of 
Prussia.  This  is  altogether  waived,  and  the  legal  existence  of  the 
Bundestag  is  acknowledged ;  or  if  not,  it  is  quite  clearly  implied,  in 
the  authority  conceded  to  her.  Prussia  had  objected  also  to  any  inva- 
sion of  Cassel,  on  the  ground  that  she  alone  had  the  right  of  pas- 
sage through  the  kingdom  ;  and  that  any  stationing  of  foreign  troops 
there  would  be  in  effect  the  separating  her  Rhenish  Provinces  from 
the  central.  Here,  however,  such  invasion  is  not  only  allowed,  but 
the  use  of  the  "  Military  Roads  "  given  to  the  foreign  armies.  She 
had  claimed  beside,  that  the  cause  of  the  Duchies  was  a  just  one. 
Her  armies  had  fought  for  it,  and  her  soldiers  and  means  had  sup- 


164  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


plied  the  insurgent  troops.  She  had  acknowledged  their  rightful 
independence,  and  had  claimed  Holstein  as  a  part  of  the  new  Ger- 
man Union.  This  too  is  all  quietly  abandoned,  and  the  deputies 
will  induce  the  men,  whom  a  year  ago  they  honored  as  patriots 
struggling  for  their  rights,  to  forsake  their  cause-— "  to  withdraw 
their  troops  behind  the  Eyder !  "—in  other  words,  to  hasten  as  fast 
as  they  can  from  a  land  where  they  are  rebels  and  traitors  !  This 
is  the  result  of  "Prussian  diplomacy  !  Can  we  wonder  at  some  slight 
discontent  on  the  part  of  people,  who  have  not  learned  this  rapid 
diplomatic  mode  of  changing  yacte  ? 

In  the  mean  time,  "now  goes  it  with  poor  Cassel  ?  The  country 
is  not  a  rich  one,  and,  in  the  best  of  times,  the  people  have  a- hard 
work  to  live.  Now,  not  only  has  their  court,  with  its  profits,  been 
dispersed,  but,  in  the  first  place,  an  immense  force  of  the  Prussians 
has  been  quartered  upon  them.  The  Prussians  have  acted  kindly  ; 
still  of  course,  they  consumed  enormously  the  substance  of  the  land. 
Now  the  Prussians  retire,  and  close  upon  their  heels,  the  Bavarians 
pour  in  over  the  land ;  more  greedy,  less  friendly  to  the  people. 
They  -encamp  in  their  houses ;  they  consume  their  carefully  saved 
provisions,  force  the  peasants  to  give  up  their  horses  for  the  cavalry, 
and  are,  in  fact,  bringing  the  country  near  upon  a  famine ;  so  that 
in  some  parts,  the  price  of  provisions  has  arisen  beyond  all  parallel. 
No  sign  of  yielding,  however,  appears  as  yet  in  that  quiet,  but  most 
steady  population.  The  officers  of  the  army,  to  the  number  of  sev- 
eral , hundreds,  have  thrown  up  their  commissions  and  have  left 
themselves  and  families  without  any  means  of  support,  rather  than 
help  to  violate  the  Constitution  which  they  have  sworn  to  obey. 
Deputies  of  high  character  have  gone  on  from  Prussia,  to  induce 
the  members  of  the  Chamber  to  assent  only  in  part  to  some  of  the 
unconstitutional  demands  of  the  Elector.  But  in  vain.  The  people 


A    NOBLE    RESISTANCE.  165 

know  their  right;  and,  very  quietly,  but  with  a  firmness  infinitely 
nobler  than  any  noisy  courage,  they  stand  by  it.  I  have  alluded  to 
this  resistance  before.  I  never  can  think  of  it  without  a  thrill  of 
sympathy  and  admiration  for  that  suffering  and  unyielding  people. 
I  do  not  believe  History  can  give  a  parallel  of  a  resistance  to  op- 
pression so  reasonable  and  so  deeply  founded.  One  wonders,  as  he 
looks  at  it,  how  the  usual  passions  and  excitement  of  men  have  been 
governed,  that  they  could  act  so  wisely  and  carefully.  An  open  re- 
bellion would  have  laid  their  country  in  a  day,  under  an  overpow- 
ering army  of  either  Austrians  or  Bavarians,  and  the  tyrannical, 
stupid  old  Elector  would  have  been  reinstated  more  firmly  thau 
ever.  They  have  simply  rested  on  their  Constitution,  and  have  tried 
the  virtues  of  passive  resistance.  They  are  suffering  merely  for 
their  rights.  In  my  opinion,  a  better  act  for  constitutional  progress 
has  not  been  done  this  century,  than  this  quiet  resistance  of  the 
Hessians.  The  spectacle  of  a  whole  people,  calmly  and  rationally 
letting  their  land  be  trampled  and  wasted  of  almost  its  last  morsel, 
by  foreign  armies,  rather  than  yield  an  item  of  their  Constitutional 
rights,  has  something  in  it,  rather  grand,  and  gives  men  the  impres- 
sion that  there  must  be  something  hare  worth  defending ! 

Of  course  the  only  result  can  be  defeat — defeat  by  the  overpow- 
ering brute-force  of  Austria — another  act  in  that  sad,  sad  drama, 
which  began  with  Italy  and  Hungary ;  and  whjch  will  end — 
where  ? 

As  I  see  more  and  more  of  these  wrongs  in  Europe,  I  find  my- 
self praying  with  tears,  "  How  long,  0  Lord  !  Is  this  heart-crushing 
Tyranny  to  be  forever  ?  Shall  the  day  ever  come  when  these  op- 
pressions, and  this  trampling  on  Freedom  and  Justice,  and  crush- 
ing of  men's  rights,  cease  ?  Shall  these  brave,  free  hearts,  who  have 


166  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


struggled  and  suffered  so  long  for  Germany,  have  no  ray,  no  glim- 
mer of  hope  ? " 

His  ways  are  not  to  be  judged  from  a  year  or  a  century.  We 
will  not  doubt.  Wrong  and  violence  triumph  no\v  among  men ; 
yet  not  for  ever,  as  He  is  good ! 

In  the  words  of  the  mournful  old  chaunt  of  the  Jews,  "  Even  in 
our  day,  0  Lord  !  even  in  our  day,  build  again  Jerusalem  /" 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

HALLE STUDENT-LIFE. 

Dec.  1860. 

THERE  are  not  many  more  disagreeable  places  in  Germany  than 
Halle  in  winter.  The  streets  are  narrow,  and  get  little  of  the  sun- 
light in  them  The  mud  and  water  settles  in  the  thoroughfares, 
and  never  runs  off,  and  the  luxury  of  dry,  level  sidewalks  is  altoge- 
ther unknown — what  are  called  "sidewalks"  being  jagged,  mac- 
adamized paths,  which  are  quite  as  muddy  as  the  streets.  The 
town,  too,  has  an  old,  worn,  dreary  look,  which  might  be  interesting 
in  another  season,  but  is  gloomy  in  this.  Still,  despite  all  this,  for 
myself  I  am  enjoying  Halle  quite  as  much,  as  if  it  were  a  more 
beautiful  place.  It  is  a  University  town,  and  as  is  usual  in  such 
places,  a  cultivated,  learned  society  has  gathered  in  it.  I  could  not 
form  any  very  definite  opinion  of  the  tone  of  society  in  Halle, 
though,  apparently  the  same  fact  holds  here  which  does  usually 
in  exclusively  literary  towns  : — that  society  becomes  one-sided  and 
less  interesting,  where  there  is  not  a  mingling  in  it  of  men  of  various 
pursuits. 

One  of  the  literati,  to  whom  I  had  letters,  was  Dr.  Tho- 
luck,  and  it  happened  the  first  night,  as  I  called  on  him,  I 
stumbled  in  on  a  little  exercise  which  is  quite  peculiar  to  him.  It 
seems  he  has  always  been  very  desirous  of  becoming  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  students,  and  for  that  purpose  allows  some  to 


SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


live  in  his  family,  and  takes  them  with  him  on  his  travels,  and  is 
very  familiar  with  them. 

With  the  same  object  he  has  commenced  during  the  last  year  or 
two,  a  kind  of  conversational  meeting,  where,  however,  he  usually 
does  most  of  the  talking.  There  was  such  a  meeting  that  night  in 
one  of  his  parlors,  and  as  I  came  into  the  crowded  room,  he  waa 
giving  an  animated  description  of  a  journey  he  had  taken  the  last 
summer  in  Wiirtemberg. 

In  personal  appearance  he  has  decidedly  a  scholarly  air,  with  a 
fine  forehead  and  keen  eye,  though  in  size  he  is  somewhat  small. 
He  spoke  with  a  clear,  deep  voice,  much  deeper  than  one  would 
have  expected  from  his  reduced  frame.  He  told,  first  of  his  travel- 
ling, then  of  the  great  meeting  of  the  friends  of  the  "  Inner  Mis- 
sion11 in  Stuttgart  (the  Kirchentag,  as  they  call  the  meeting),  of 
the  hospitality  of  the  citizens,  and  the  intense  interest  of  all  in  the  pro- 
ceedings ;  then  of  their  own  discussions  in  the  assembly,  and  the 
narrow  escape  they  had  from  making  it  merely  an  arena  of  political 
contests,  especially  with  reference  to  the  Schlesvvig-Holstein  ques- 
tion. Something  of  the  objects  and  the  great  results,  also,  of  the 
Inner  Mission,  were  touched  upon ;  and  finally,  he  came  to  what 
was  the  more  especial  subject  of  his  remarks — the  former  condition 
of  the  Universities.  He  spoke  of  Halle,  of  his  connection  with  it, 
of  the  command  which  some  five-and-twenty  years  ago  came  to  him 
from  the  king,  to  take  a  professorship  in  that  University  which  had 
so  abandoned  the  faith  of  its  fathers.  He  loved  Berlin,  he  said  ; 
in  Berlin  was  his  home.  His  old  friends,  and  many  who  sympa- 
thized deeply  in  his  religious  views,  were  there.  •'Jle  dreaded  to 
leave  it.  In  Halle,  among  a  large  and  influential  corps  of  learned 
men,  there  was  only  one  pastor  and  a  superannuated  "  U&ndidat" 
who  could  in  any  way  stand  by  him.  He  was  to  go  there,  a  young 


THOLUCK.  169 


man,  with  unpopular  opinions,  to  stem  the  general  tide  of  Rational- 
ism. He  had  many  fears,  but  he  at  length  resolved  to  attempt  it. 
He  then  described  in  a  most  amusing  manner,  the  condition  x>f  the 
University  at  the  time  of  his  coming — the  universal  rowdyism 
among  the  students ;  the  highflown  religious  instruction,  and  tran- 
scendental tone  even  in  prayer,  so  that  the  common  people  used  to 
look  on,  almost  stupefied.  At  first,  he  said,  he  only  had  four 
students  who  embraced  the  views  he  was  supporting,  and  three  of 
these  were  not  especially  remarkable  for  intellectual  acumen,  and 
the  fourth  rather  prided  himself  on  his  deep  religious  struggles. 
Rationalism  was  all  the  vogue.  To  be  an  "  Orthodox11  was  the 
mark  either  of  a  "  Dummkopf"  (dolt),  or  a  "  Fanatiker1'1  (fanatic). 
In  all  that  concerned  Christian  faith  and  practical  religion  the 
University  was  almost  lifeles^. 

He  did  not  relate  the  result  of  his  labors.  But  it  may  not  be 
unknown  in  America,  that  Tholuck's  influence  under  a  Higher,  has 
been  the  means  of  almost  Christianizing  Halle.  With  a  mind 
fresh  and  interesting — even  if  not  always  strictly  logical — with  a 
learning  of  wonderful  extent  and  variety,  and  all  the  accomplish- 
ments of  a  "  man  of  the  world,"  it  is  not  surprising  he  has  gained 
a  deep  influence  over  the  students  and  the  University  at  Halle. 
The  simple,  humble,  practical  piety,  too,  which  spoke  out  all 
through  this  speech,  has  worked  its  way  among  the  minds  here ; 
and  instead  now  of  their  being  but  one  Professor  with  what  are 
called  "  evangelical  views,"  the  whole  Faculty,  nearly,  are  of  that 
school,  and  the  exceptions  are  the  Rationalists.  Tholuck's  ortho- 
doxy, too,  is  not  of  that  strict,  riarrow  kind,  which  one  finds  now 
occasionally  in  Germany,  as  a  re-action  from  Rationalism — the 
orthodoxy  which  dreads  inquiry  and  forbids  freedom.  It  is  evi- 
dent, his  mind  works  freely  on  all  religious  questions.  Some 
8 


170  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


thoughts  of  his,  of  late,  on  a  subject  whose  philosophical  theory 
demands  an  investigation  from  earnest  minds  everywhere — "  Inspi- 
ration"t— have  called  forth  no  little  opposition  from  certain  orthodox 
quarters. 

The  close  of  his  remarks  consisted  mostly  of  heartfelt  ad- 
vice on  the  difficulties  peculiar  to  students— the  conceit  and  self- 
confidence  they  are  liable  to,  and  the  discouragement  they  will  often 
feel  in  struggling  with  their  defects,  and  the  strange  struggle  which 
with  them,  as  with  all,  rages  between  what  they  desire  for  the 
moment  and  what  they  desire  really ;  what  they  "  would,"  and 
what  they  "do."  His  tone  was  deep  and  full  of  feeling  ;  and  the 
earnestness  of  his  manner  and  thought  must  have  reached  every 
heart. 

I  was  considerably  surprised  in  what  I  saw  of  Tholuck  that  even- 
ing. I  had  expected  to  find  an  elegant,  somewhat  mystical  scholar, 
with  no  especial  practical  bias  whatever.  All  his  remarks,  however, 
showed  a  keen  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  even  a  somewhat 
humorous  eye  for  its  weaknesses.  He  had  evidently  been  among 
men,  and.  knew  something  of  the  art  of  managing  them.  As  a 
speaker  and  preacher,  too,  he  must  be  a  man  of  no  inconsiderable 
power.  Perhaps  fault  might  have  been  found  with  his  speaking  so 
often  of  himself;  but,  after  all,  when  a  man  has  accomplished  so 
much  as  he  has,  it  seems  to  me  he  ought  to  have  the  liberty  of  tell- 
ing of  it. 

I  found,  while  in  Halle,  that  there  were  several  Americans  there, 
veiy  intelligent,  gentlemanly  fellows.  Through  them  I  was  made 
acquainted  with  the  students.  We  met  a  circle  of  them  first,  at  a 
"  coffee  party"  in  the  afternoon.  They  were  hand  and  glove  with 
us  in  a  few  minutes ;  most  social,  easy  men,  A  kind  of  romance 
and  enthusiasm,  too,  about  them,  which  is  very  refreshing.  One  of 


A    '  COFFEE   PARTY."  171 


them  told  me,  that  no  student  ever  saluted  another  with  "  Guten 
Abend!""  (Good  evening),  but  always  "Guten  Morgen!"  (Good 
morning),  as  "  with  them  it  was  always  morning !" 

We  discussed  politics ;  they  were  enthusiastic  for  freedom,  but 
evidently  had  rather  vague  ideas  of  it.  I  told  them,  that  "  they, 
like  all  the  Germans,  did  not  have  confidence  enough  in  the  people." 
They  allowed  it,  and  said  they  had  no  reason  for  it,  thus  far  in  • 
European  revolutions.  We  explained  to  them  our  system  iu 
America;  and,  after  some  discussion,  they  admitted  its  success,  and 
very  politely  too,  that  we  were  "  the  most  unprejudiced  set  of 
Americans  they  had  met." 

The  walls  of  the  room  were  covered  with  various  spruce  little 
figures  of  students,  in  outline  or  charcoal  sketching.  On  inquiry, 
it  appeared,  these  were  the  heroes  of  the  respective  "  Corps"  or 
Secret  Societies  in  former  years,  and  that  their  fame  was  thus  trans- 
mitted to  posterity.  After  a  very  sociable  afternoon  together,  in 
which  coffee  enough  was  absorbed  and  cigars  smoked  to  have 
shattered  irretrievably  the  nervous  constitution  of  any  one  but  a 
German,  we  adjourned  to  a  lecture,  from  which  they  promised  us 
much  entertainment.  It  was  from  ERDMANN,  and  one  of  the  regu- 
lar Historical  Course — subject,  "  Student  Life." 

It  was  amusing  to  hear  such  a  subject  as  this,  carefully  and 
laboriously  analyzed,  and  the  effect  of  it,  as  one  element  of  Ger- 
man institutions,  so  closely  traced.  According  to  the  lecturer  the 
student  was  the  "  Aristocrat"  of  German  life — in  the  class  which 
possessed  the  most  peculiar  privileges  and  influence.  Without 
going  minutely  into  the  lecture,  I  would  say  that  .the  idea 
throughout  was  not  that  the  student  was  a  man  of  the  world  and 
with  the  responsibility  and  aims  of  other  men,  but  that  he  was  a 
member  of  a  peculiar  class — a  class  whose  distinct  existence  was 


172  SOCIAL   LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


necessary  to  the  welfare  of  the  other  classes  of  the  country ;  and 
that,  therefore,  any  sinking  of  the  importance  of  this  body,  as  occurs 
in  a  large  city,  or  any  uniting  it  with  other  classes,  was  very  much, 
to  be  deprecated. 

I  told  our  German  friends,  in  returning  home,  that  such  a  lecture 
could  never  apply  to  our  country ;  that  the  students  never  have 
formed  a  distinct  class  with  us,  and  we  hoped  they  never  would. 
We  would  prefer  them  to  be  like  the  other  citizens  of  the  State, 
and  many  of  us  found  it  one  of  the  greatest  evils  of  our  sytem  now, 
that  College-men  knew  so  little  of  the  world. 

They  replied,  and  very  justly,  I  think,  that  in  Germany  almost 
the  only  class  which  contains  within  it  any  free  and  independent 
principles,  is  the  student-class.  "  We  should  have  had  no  Resurrec- 
tion of  Germany  in  1814,"  said  they,  "if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
universal  movement  among  the  students  ;  and  in  '48,  it  was  the 
students  who  headed  the  Revolution  everywhere,  and  who  stirred 
up  the  People!" 

It  is  true,  without  doubt,  that  in  Northern  Europe,  and  even  in 
Austria,  the  Universities,  beyond  all  other  Institutions  of  the  State, 
are  the  repositories  of  free  and  noble  ideas.  The  student  is  a  sa- 
cred, inviolable  personage,  whose  rights  even  the  Austrian  police 
dare  not  as  yet  invade  ;  and  we  do  not  deny  that  any  merging  of 
these  universities  into  other  Institutions,  or  breaking  down  of  the 
guards  which  they  have  thrown  around  themselves,  is  to  be  deeply 
deplored  by  the  friends  of  Freedom.  Still,  I  could  not  avoid  think- 
ing in  this  conversation,  though  I  said  nothing,  that  it  was  a  bad 
sign  for  a  country,  when  its  boys  are  the  leaders  of  ife-  Revolutions. 
In  America  and  Hungary,  it  was  the  prime  of  the  manhood  which 
headed  the  struggle.  And  that  it  did  not  speak  very  favorably  for 
the  boasted  influence  of  these  Institutions,  that  the  Radical  of  the 


STUDENT    MANNERS.  173 

University,  so  soon  became  a  Conservative  after  leaving  it;  and 
that  a  government-office  had  with  the  majority  such  a  tranquilizing 
and  soothing  influence  over  their  enthusiastic  ideas  of  Human 
Freedom. 

In  parting  with  my  friends  in  the  evening,  I  felt  as  if  I  had  known 
them  for  years,  and  they  assured  me  in  the  most  handsome  man- 
ner, that  I  was  made  for  a  student,  and  that  I  had  "  die  echle 
Deutsche  Guimuthigke.it !  "  (the  genuine  German  good  nature  !) 

I  notice  in  Halle,  and  in  Leipsic  also,  more  of  the  genuine 
student-costume  than  in  Berlin,  or  in  many  other  university  towns. 
The  high  jack-boots,  reaching  up  to  the  thigh,  the  jaunty  little  red 
or  yellow  caps,  just  set  on  the  front  part  of  the  head,  and  the  vel- 
veteen coats  with  curious  devices,  figure  everywhere  in  the  streets. 
Here,  as  everywhere,  the  students  seem  to  differ  very  little  in  age 
from  our  own,  though  I  understand  the  average  age  of  entering  at 
Halle  is  about  nineteen,  which  perhaps  is  a  little  higher  than  in 
some  of  the  New  England  colleges. 

I  like  very  much  the  bearing  of  the  Professors  and  students  to- 
ward one  another,  in  these  Universities.  The  manners  are  gentle- 
manly, but  nothing  more.  There  is  no  repelling  distance  on  one 
side,  or  excessive  deference  on  the  other.  They  walk  together  and 
meet  each  other  in  society,  and  make  excursions  in  company  in  sum- 
mer ;  and  the  feeling  between  them  is  of  friends,  though  of  friends 
differing  in  years  and  experience. 

It  is  rather  amusing  to  see  how  the  students  in  the  lecture-room 
govern  themselves,  and  indeed  the  Professor  too  sometimes.  If  a 
man  conies  in  late,  or  makes  any  unusual  noise,  so  that  they  cannot 
hear  the  lecturer,  he  is  hissed  in  a  manner  which  is  decidedly  un- 
pleasant ;  and  if  the  lecturer  himself  speaks  so  fast  that  they  do  not 


174  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


catch  the  idea,  a  sort  of  "  hush  "  always  passes  around,  and  the  un- 
intelligible passage  is  repeated. 

One  evening  while  I.  was  there  I  was  invited  to  what  is  called  a 
"  Verbindung  "  among  the  students.  My  readers  may  know  that 
nil  the  students  through  the  German  universities,  who  are  members 
»f  a  "  Chor,"  have  what  they  call  the  "  Kneipen,"  a  social  party, 
where  they  smoke  and  sing  and  drink  beer  in  a  way  which  would 
alarm  a  veteran  toper.  I  was  present  in  one  at  Heidelberg,  and  a 
more  senseless,  stupid,  beer-swilling  performance  I  have  never  seen 
in  any  tap-room  of  England. 

It  has  been  the  desire  of  Dr.  Tholuck  and  some  others  here,  that 
something  different  might  be  formed,  especially  among  the  theolo- 
gical students,  and  that  a  society  might  be  started  in  which  any 
religious  student  could  have  social  enjoyment,  and  at  the  same  time 
sympathy  rn  higher  matters.  Accordingly  with  this  idea,  the  Ver- 
bindung was  formed,  and  I  suppose  the  majority  of  the  members 
are  theological  students.  As  I  came  in,  I  found  a  company  of 
some  thirty  or  forty  seated  at  a  long  table,  each  with  his  mug  of 
beer  and  pipe  before  him,  and  all  in  the  most  animated  conversa- 
tion. I  have  hardly  ever  seen  a  more  intelligent,  genial-looking  set 
of  men,  and  the  conversation  was  really  very  interesting,  and  often 
serious  in  tone.  They  evidently  met,  after  hard  study,  for  relaxa- 
tion, and  though  there  was  great  liveliness,  there  was  no  kind  of  ex- 
cess. The  evening  was  varied  with  some  amusing  mock-auctions, 
and  various  songs  which  were  sung  with  the  greatest  spirit.  One 
patriotic  song,  in  which  the  valor  of  the  Prussians  \\ps  the  theme, 
was  sung  again  and  again  in  a  manner  which  showed  something 
more  than  common  interest  in  it.  I  observed  that  there  were  a  few 
who  took  no  part  in  it — probably  students  from  South  Germany 
who  sympathized  with  the  Austrians. 


THEOLOGICAL    PARTY.  175 


About  eleven  o'clock,  I  left  .the  party,  with  very  agreeable  impres- 
sions of  the  Verliindung  as  compared,  with  the  Jfneipen,  and  with 
the  chorus  of  the  valorous  song,  ringing  long  after  through,  my 
dreams  that  night: 

"  Die  Prcutsen  sind  da  !  Die  Preussen  sind  da  /" 
"  For  the  Prussians  are  there !    The  Prussians  are  there  I" 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

UNIVERSITIES—      *       *       *       *       HANOVER. 

I  CANNOT  leave  Halle  without  expressing  my  sense  of  the  con- 
trast between  the  American  and  the  German  Universities. 

Whatever  our  Colleges  may  have  doue,  they  have  certainly  in 
one  respect  proved  a  failure — they  have  never.succeeded  in  producing 
any  genuine  intellectual  enthusiasm  whatever,  among  the  mass  of  the 
students.  I  never  yet  met  a  set  of  College-men  in  America,  who 
took  any  deep  interest  in  their  pursuits.  The  idea  with  most  is, 
that  College-life  is  a  kind  of  wearisome  sea  voyage — the  great 
object  lying  beyond — and  that  their  first  duty  to  the  studies  is  to 
get  rid  of  them.  With  some  of  the  best  minds,  half  of  the  most 
laborious  efforts  of  the  four  years  are  spent  in  gulling  tutors,  and 
rushing  through  recitations  on  small  capital.  If  the  lesson  is  broken 
up,  or  the  lecture  put  off,  it  is  considered  a  victory.  The  teacher 
is  the  student's  natural  enemy  in  our  Colleges.  Those  who 
do  study,  work  so  mechanically,  for  "  honors," .  or  under  some 
equally  unworthy  motive,  that  it  is  hard  to  imagine  any  high 
intellectual  interest  in  the  pursuit.  The  thing  is  the  more  remark- 
able, as  in  all  the  intellectual  pursuits  of  active  life.-  we  find  in 
America,  the  most  absorbed  enthusiasm  and  activity.  But  the 
moment  we  enter  a  College,  even  among  men  no  younger  than 


AMERICAN    UNIVERSITIES.  177 


those  without,  it  is  all  changed.  The  student's  business  is  a  bore — a 
task — a  punishment — and  the  sooner  it  is  over  the  better. 

There  are  exceptions  to  these  remarks ;  but  I  am  sure  that  in 
their  general  truth,  I  shall  have  the  agreement  of  the  mass  of  Col- 
lege graduates  throughout  the  country,  whether  they  care  to  express 
it  or  not. 

The  appearance  of  things  in  a  German  University  is  utterly  dif- 
ferent, and  one  sees  at  once  that  the  common  idea  of  their  pursuits, 
is  quite  another  from  that  of  our  students  at  home.  There  is  the 
deepest  attention  in  the  lectures.  The  students  constantly  discuss 
and  talk  ove:r  their  studies.  '  There  is  as  much  enthusiasm  among 
them  for  an  abstract  theme,  or  a  scientific  subject  they  are  investi- 
gating, as  there  is  among  the  politicians  or  the  business  men  with- 
out, in  their  pursuits.  This  studying  is  their  business,  their  pro- 
fession, and  they  know  it ;  and  the  mass  of  them  would  no  more 
think  of  shirking  lectures,  than  a  botanist  would  of  getting  rid  of 
his  flowers,  or  a  lawyer  of  his  briefs. 

The  foeling  towards  the  teachers,  too,  is  very  different.  With 
less  outward  deference  than  with  us,  there  is  a  far  deeper  love  and 
reverence — a  feeling  that  these  are  great  men  among  them,  who  are 
helping  them  on  to  higher  stages  of  knowledge,  and  that  any  assist- 
ance from  them  is  a  kindness,  and  that  their  intercourse  and  instruc- 
tion is  a  privilege  to  be  received  with  gratitude. 

I  am  aware  that  there  are  many  exceptions  to  this,  especially 
among  the  "  corps  members,"  and  exceptions  there  naturally  would 
be,  where  so  many  attend  the  University  merely  because  it  is  re- 
quired by  their  station  in  society ;  but  among  the  great  majority  of 
those  who  enter  the  institution — as  with  us — for  the  sake  of  educa- 
tion, and  who  expect  to  gain  their  livelihood  by  their  intellectual 
efforts,  I  am  confident  there  is  generally  this  high  intellectual  en- 
8* 


178  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


thusiasm,  an  enthusiasm  which  seems  to  me  almost  utterly  wanting 
in  our  colleges. 

The  causes  of  this  difference  will  not  be  found  in  the  greater  youth 
of  our  students,  as  contrary  to  my  expectation,  there  is  very  little 
difference  in  years.  Nor  will  it  altogether  in  the  different  nature  of 
the  studies  pursued,  as  the  last  half  of  our  course  corresponds  almost 
precisely  with  a  part  of  the  course  in  a  German  university.  The 
great  and  prominent  reason  of  this  difference  is  in  the  fact  that  the 
German  system  is,  from  beginning  to  end,  a  voluntary  system.  No 
student  is  obliged  to  attend  lectures.  No  account  is  taken  of  pre- 
sence or  absence.  No  strict  supervision  is  maintained  over  him  with 
respect  to  his  studies.  The  whole  matter  is  left  to  his  own  sense  of 
responsibility,  or  his  interest  in  the  subjects  taught.  He  is  treated 
at  once  as  a  man — as  a  reasonable  and  responsible  man.  And  the 
effect  is,  with  a  few  exceptions,  what  we  might  expect — be  acts  like 
one.  The  idea  is  not  in  any  way  brought  before  his  mind,  that  the 
studies  are  a  task — a  burden,  placed  on  him  by  another.  He  can 
stay  away  or  attend,  as  he  chooses.  The  whole  impression  left  is 
that  study  is  a  privilege,  an  intellectual  pleasure. 

This  is  not  the  idea  in  our  colleges.  And  whether  this  be  the 
right  explanation  or  not  of  the  difference,  the  fact  is  worth  consider- 
ing. And  it  is  worth  considering,  also,  that  "where  the  voluntary 
system  is  tried,  as  in  our  professional  schools,  the  intellectual  life, 
the  enthusiasm  for  study,  is  far  higher  than  what  appears  under  the 
other  system. 

We  know  that  against  the  evils  mentioned  here,  many  of  the 
teachers  of  our  colleges  have  struggled  long  and  earnestly.  That 
more  than  anything  else,  they  have  labored  to  infuse  into  college 
life  a  higher  moral  enthusiasm.  If  they  have  not  succeeded,  the 
fault,  with  many,  has  been  in  the  system,  not  in  themselves. 


MAGDEBURG.  179 


No  one  can  doubt,  of  course,  that  even  with  these  defects,  our  col- 
icge  system  has  done  much  for  the  thought  of  the  country.  But 
in  my  opinion,  the  great  benefit  of  the  course,  the  highest  intellec- 
tual life,  will  be  found  to  "be  not  so  much  from  the  regular  studies 
as  from  the  contact  of  the  students'  minds  with  one  another,  from 
the  general  intercourse,  from  the  "  voluntary  studies,"  and  from 
those  literary  and  debating  societies  which  form  the  most  original 
feature  of  our  college  course. 


From  Halle,  I  travelled  by  rail  to  Magdeburg,  on  my  course  to 
Hanover.  I  was  interested  to  see  the  old  city  which  had  borne  so  many 
terrible  sieges,  and  which  is  destined  yet,  if  another  European  war 
takes  place,  to  play  an  important  part.  It  is  probably  the  largest 
fortified  town  in  Europe,  and  would  require  an  army  of  more  than 
50,000  men  to  thoroughly  invest  it.  Its  importance  consists  in  its 
artificial  defences,  and  in  its  commanding  the  line  of  the  Elbe.  As 
I  studied  from  the  high  Cathedral  tower  its  long  green  lines  of  for- 
tifications, and  saw  how  marsh  and  river,  and  every  contrivance  of 
art  defended  it,  I  wondered  more  than  ever  at  that  utter  prostration 
of  the  Prussian  nation  in  1806,  which  had  delivered  it  almost  with- 
out a  stroke  to  Napoleon.  There  were  heavy  masses  of  soldiers  in 
various  parts  of  the  defences,  in  preparation  for  the  coming  war,  so 
that  the  war-like  picture  was  complete. 

From  this  city,  a  pleasant  ride  on  the  railroad  carried  me  to  Hano- 
ver, where  I  spent  a  few  days  most  happily.  I  cannot  refrain  here 
from  expressing  my  obligations  to  Prof.  Oesterly,  the  court  painter 
of  Hanover,  a  most  accomplished  and  truly  religious  artist,  to  whose 
courtesies  I  owe  some  very  pleasant  hours  in  the  city.  Everywhere 
that  I  went  among  the  citizens,  I  heard  accounts  of  their  gruflj 


180  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


honest,  indomitable  old  king.*  He  had  come  there  (iu  1837)  from 
England,  determined  to  govern  absolutely,  not  so  much  because  he 
objected  to  popular  principles,  as  because  he  wanted  his  own  way. 
The  reputation  which  preceded  him  was  notoriously  bad.  A  brutal, 
imperious  man ;  brave  indeed,  but  under  strong  suspicions  of  hav- 
ing murdered  his  own  valet ;  and  disgraced  by  the  worst  immorali- 
ties— to  such  a  degree,  that  he  could  not  appear  in  the  public 
streets  of  London,  without  being  "groaned."  His  fame  had  not 
belied  him,  for  he  commenced  a  most  unprovoked  attack  at  once  on 
the  Constitution  of '33,  under  the  pretext  of  reverting  to  that  of '19. 
The  great  fault  of  the  former,  in  his  eyes,  being  that  one  of  its  pro- 
visions declared  the  "incapacity  of  any  heir  to  the  throne  who 
suffered  under  a  physical  or  moral  defect."  His  only  son  was  blind. 
The  country  resisted  his  efforts,  especially  for  the  reason,  that  the 
last  Constitution  gave  a  control  over  the  6nances  to  the  ministry. 
Many  of  the  cities  refused  to  send  deputies  to  the  Parliament,  under 
the  old  Constitution.  And  several  of  the  most  prominent  profes- 
sors at  Gottingen  entered  a  public  protest  against  this  violation  of 
the  people's  rights.  Resistance  only  inflamed  the  imperious  old 
man ;  and  he  swore,  that  he  would  leave  them  no  Constitution  at 
all.  The  Parliament  was  declared  dissolved,  and  the  professors 
were  banished.  The  contest  continued  for  some  years  between 
King  and  People,  until  the  former  had  carried  all  his  points,  and  his 
subjects  had  settled  down  into  a  discontented  submission.  Then, 
very  characteristically,  when  not  forced,  he  restored  of  his  own 
accord  many  of  their  old  privileges.  The  administration  of  justice 
was  reformed ;  and  though  the  old  Englishman  was  'arbitrary,  it 
was  found  soon,  he  was  always  on  the  side  of  the  poor  man  and  of 
justice.  He  managed  his  own  finances  too,  without  a  responsible 
*  Kmest  Augustus,  formerly  Duke  of  Cumberland,  son  of  George  III. 


ANECDOTE    OF    THE    KING.  181 


ministry ;  but  it  soon  appeared,  they  were  much  more  honestly 
farmed  than  under  the  old  system. 

It  is  related  of  the  King,  that  a  poor  countryman  applied  one 
day  for  an  audience,  and  according  to  his  rule  that  no  one  should 
be  refused,  was  admitted,  The  man  complained  that  the  judge  of 
his  village  neglected  his  duties — left  the  business  with  the  clerk — 
and  was  amusing  himself  with  hunting  and  sports,  so  that  the  poor 
could  not  get  their  rights. 

Ernest  heard  him  through — said  nothing — but  before  the  coun- 
tryman could  have  fairly  reached  the  city  gates,  was  posting  in  a 
private  carriage  as  fast  as  horses  would  carry  him,  to  the  village  ot 
the  unfortunate  judge.  The  carriage  stopped  before  the  court,  the 
King,  in  citizen's  dress,  rushed  up  the  steps,  demanded  the  judge, 
and  found  that  he  was  engaged  as  described  ;  called  for  the  clerk, 
and  substantiated  everything  through  him  ;  sat  down  and  wrote 
off  something  hastily  on  a  bit  of  paper  and  handed  it  to  the  clerk, 
and  was  rattling  off  again  in  his  carriage.  The  clerk  to  his  amaze- 
ment, on  opening  the  paper,  found  that  it  contained  an  order  foi 
the  dismission  of  the  judge,  and  his  own  appointment  in  his  place, 
signed  with  the  name  of  the  King  of  Hanover! 

Ernest  had  much  of  the  worst  English  qualities.  He  was  coarse 
and  brutal ;  and  it  was  said,  he  would  curse  and  beat  even  the 
ladies  in  attendance,  if  they  offended  him.  No  one  loved  him,  and 
the  most  stood  in  mortal  fear  of  his  anger.  Still  he  had,  too,  some- 
thing of  the  English  punctuality  and  honesty.  Before  his  reign, 
the  court  tradesmen  and  workmen  were  in  the  habit  of  executing 
orders  with  true  German  ease  and  leisure,  whatever  speed  they  had 
promised.  With  Ernest,  if  any  man — carpenter  or  artist. — did 
not  have  his  task  fully  completed  at  the  exact  time  promised,  hia 
work  was  rejected,  or  his  services  refused  henceforth  entirely.  The 


182  SOCIAL   LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


people  told  me,  that  a  great  reform  had  been  introduced  everywhere 
in  the  Hanoverian  business,  through  this  exactness  of  the  court. 
The  King,  too,  always  kept  his  word,  and  was  inexorable  to  any 
one  who  did  not.  He  has  the  glory  of  being  almost  the  (only 
sovereign  in  Europe  who  promised  liberty  to  his  subjects  in  1848, 
without  being  compelled  to  it,  and  who  kept  his  promise,  after  he 
had  the  power  to  break  it. 

In  that  year,  the  trial  by  jury,  a  fair  liberty  of  the  press,  and  a 
parliamentary  system  of  two  Houses,  whose  election  was  based  on 
a  property- qualification,  was  definitely  settled  in  Hanover.  Still, 
though  liberal  in  its  tone,  the  Government  of  Hanover  has  never 
corresponded  in  its  fundamental  principles  with  the  wishes  of  the 
majority  of  the  citizens. 

It  remains  to  be  seen  in  a  few  years  whether  that  liberty-loving 
people  will  remain  as  quietly  under  the  blind,  weak  son,  as  they 
did  under  the  strong,  imperious  old  father. 

It  is  probable,  in  these  last  years,  the  interest  taken  in  the  Federal 
question  of  Germany  has  removed  public  attention  in  Hanover,  from 
their  own  difficulties.  After  the  extinction  of  the  Great  National 
Assembly  at  Frankfort,  the  king  of  Hanover,  as  we  have  before 
related,  formed  an  alliance  (May  26,  1849)  with  the  kings  of  Prus- 
sia and  Saxony.  The  reservations,  however,  made  by  him  in  this 
alliance,  gave  him  liberty  to  leave  it,  when  it  suited  his  convenience. 
And  accordingly  at  the  summoning  of  a  new  German  Parliament  at 
Erfurt,  by  Prussia,  Hanover  quietly  broke  her  relations  with  the 
parties ;  and  much  to  the  vexation  of  Prussia,  stood  for  a  while 
separated  both  from  the  Austrian  and  Prussian  ranks.  This  posi- 
tion, the  confidence  of  the  people  in  their  king,  and  the  weight  of 
his  character  through  Germany,  have  given  Hanover  much  influence 
in  the  various  crises,  during  this  last  year.  To  its  honor,  be  it  said, 


HANCVER.  183 


the  Hanoverian  Government  firmly  refused  to  have  any  share  in  the 
late  tyrannical  federal  intervention  in  Hesse-  Cassel. 

The  general  prosperity  of  Hanover,  the  citizens  say,  has  been 
much  improved  since  the  residence  of  their  own  king  among  them 
as  the  court  draws  many  branches  of  labor  to  it,  and  the  royal  reve- 
nues are  now  spent  within  the  country. 

Hanover  is  the  centre  of  another  of  those  singular  "  Protection- 
Unions,"  which  exist  in  Germany  —  the  Stenerverein*  Of  this  and 
the  larger  Prussian  Union,  the  Zollverein,  I  may  have  more  to  say 
hereafter.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  observe  here,  that  this  Union 
founded  in  1834,  embraces  nearly  all  of  Hanover,  the  Duchy  of 
Oldenburg,  the  Principality  of  Schaumburg-Lippe,  a  part  of  Bruns- 
wick, and  certain  small  provinces  of  Prussia. 

The  basis  of  the  Union  is  a  lower  rate  of  duties  than  that  of  its 
rival,  the  Prussian.  Its  commerce  is  principally  through  the  ports 
of  Bremen  and  Hamburg.  Hanover  has  never  been  a  manufactur- 
ing country  ;  agriculture  is  the  principal  branch,  and  perhaps  in 
consequence,  she  has  always,  thus  far,  inclined  to  low  tariffs.  One 
cause,  without  doubt,  of  the  low  state  of  the  manufacturing  interest, 
is  in  the  burdensome  laws  with  regard  to  apprentices  in  trades  ;  re- 
quiring each  one  to  travel  three  years  in  foreign  countries  ;  to  be 
member  of  a  corporation  and  to  possess  the  right  of  citizenship,  be- 
fore he  can  set  up  business  for  himself. 

The  annual  duties  in  Hanover,  have  amounted  for  several  years 
to  about  $1,400,000.  The  commercial  marine  this  year  (1850)  is 
estimated  at  55,000  tons. 

Hanover  is  not  so  populous  as  Ohio,  numbering  only  1,759,000 

inhabitants,  yet  her  expenses  are  more  than  $5,780,000  per  annum, 

of  which  the  king  takes  about  $420,000;  and  the  contingent  which 

she  must  always  stand  ready  to  furnish  to  the  Union  is  36,000  men. 

*  See  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

BERLIN    AGAIN  !     WINTER    AMUSEMENTS. 

December,  1850. 

I  EXTRACT  from  a  letter,  as  giving  best  my  impressions  on  re- 
turning. 

"  DEAR  T :  I  only  stopped  for  a  short  visit  in  Hamburg,  and 

came  back  at  once  here  to  my  old  quarters. 

"  I  did  not  go  directly  to  my  German  acquaintances,  but  having 
geTcriegt  your  Iptter  and  refreshed  myself  with  it,  T  called  on  some 
Americans,  whom  I  knew  here.  I  was  not  at  all  prepared  for  the 
contrast.  The  truth  is,  I  had  been  in  Hamburg,  as  in  a  home  ;  and 
the  last  night,  my  friends  looked  quite  as  blue  as  I  did,  at  my  leav- 
ing. Then  to  come  right  down  among  these  men — all  of  them 
with  a  kind  of  supercilious  indifference  to  everything — and  a  sort  of 
hardness  of  manner  which  I  begin  almost  to  think,  American — it  was 
like  jumping  into  a  cold  bath.  It  disappointed  me,  and  I  was  glad  to 
get  to  bed  and  forget  it.  This  humanity  of  the  Germans,  becomes 
almost  a  necessity  of  life  to  one.  To  be  able  to  mee^t  men,  as  if  you 
had  an  interest  in  them,  and  they  in  you — as  if  it  wasn't  poetry  that 
you  were  "  brothers,"  and  it  was  no  impertinence  to  talk  freely  of 
their  affairs,  or  intrusion  or  impropriety  to  speak  of  your  own — to 
have  the  abiding,  underlying  idea  of  your  intercourse,  all  the  while 


SKATING.  185 


i kind  of  open-hearted,  social  respect.  This  is  what  I  like  so  in 
Aem,  and  what  I  did  not  find  in  these  fellows,  and  the  want  of 
which  will  coot  me  off  so,  when  I  get  home." 


One  of  our  pleasantest  out-door  recreations  now,  is  a  skating- 
party  on  the  Wiesen,  or  "  Meadows,"  about  a  mile  from  the  city? 
through  the  Thiergarten.  We  usually  make  up  a  party  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen  and  walk  out.  The  Meadows  are  some  broad  flats 
overflown  by  the  water,  making  an  admirable  skating-ground ;  and 
the  scene  on  them  on  a  pleasant  winter  afternoon,  is  one  of  the  most 
lively  I  ever  saw. 

The  ice  for  a  mile  beyond  is  covered  with  a  labyrinth  of  whirling, 
gayly-dressed  groups  ;  there  a  man  cutting  the  most  artistic  and 
mysterious  figures  of  the  science  ;  there  two  ladies  skating  off  grace- 
fully together ;  here  a  lady  and  gentleman  hand  in  hand,  or  a  whole 
line  together,  moving  across,  and  again  through  them  all,  rushing 
on  at  a  most  alarming  speed,  the  sled-chairs  with  ladies,  pushed  on 
by  servants  or  friends — all  moving  and  whirling  and  dashing  around 
among  one  another,  and  yet  no  one  injured  or  getting  a  fall.  Then 
on  the  bank,  other  groups  again — men  renting  skates,  women  with 
coffee  tables  and  cakes,  boys  with  fresh  flowers  from  the  conserva- 
tories, and  crowds  of  hacks  and  private  carriages  waiting  to  take 
the  skaters,  and  scattered  about  through  them  all,  that  omnipresent 
and  most  inquisitive  individual — the  Berlin  policeman — grand  in 
helmet,  blue  coat  and  sword.  Add  'to  all  this,  to  complete  the 
scene,  a  clear  winter's  air ;  the  rich  light  of  the  sun,  far  sunk  in  the 
south,  falling  over  the  groups,  and  just  tinging  with  rose-color  the 
white  columns  of  smoke  ;  and  for  a  back -ground,  the  delicate 


186  SOCIAL    LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


tracery  and  dark  masses  of  the  old  trees  against  the  cold  gray 
eastern  sky. 

There  must  be  nearly  a  thousand  people  out,  some  days,  from  all 
classes,  young  and  old,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  the  ladies  in 
their  prettiest  dresses,  much  as  if  for  a  fashionable  promenade. 

I  have  never  seen  a  more  graceful  exercise  for  women,  and 
the  most  here  were  well  accomplished  in  the  science.  It 
has  only  been  tried  among  the  ladies  of  Berlin  for  a  few  years, 
since  one  of  the  Princesses  set  the  fashion,  though  now  it  is 
quite  the  mode.  The  most  surprising  thing  to  an  American  was 
the  number  of  elderly  men  joining  in  the  sport — men  of  station — 
the  Professor  and  students  together,  or  the  worn-out  business 
man  coming  out  to  have  one  of  the  free  sports  of  his  youth  over 
again. 

I  know  of  nothing,  in  the  habits  of  foreign  nations,  which  struck 
me  at  first,  as  so  entirely  new,  as  this  love  for  out-door  sports. 
In  England,  I  did  not  pass  through  a  village,  without  finding  the 
green  cricket-ground  ;  and,  be  it  remembered,  not  with  boys  at  play 
on  it,  but  men — men  often  of  rank  and  character.  Later  in 
the  season,  were  the  boat-races,  where  the  whole  population 
gathered ;  gentlemen  of  the  highest  rank  presiding,  and  the  noble- 
man and  student  tugging  at  the  oar,  as  eagerly  as  the  mechanic  or 
waterman. 

In  September,  we  were  making  our  foot  trip  through  the  High- 
lands of  Scotland,  and  we  scarcely  found  an  inn  so  remote,  which 
was  not  crowded  with  gentlemen,  shooting,  riding,  or  pedestrian- 
izing  through  the  mountains,'  and  with  the  zest  and  eagerness  of 
boys  let  out  of  school. 

On  the  Continent,  with  the  exception  of  Hungary,  there  is  not 
uch  a  passion  for  exciting  field-sports ;  but  the  same  love  for  the 


OPEN   AIR  LIFE.  187 


open  air.  In  Paris,  a  pleasant  day  will  fill  the  Champs  Elysees 
with  cheerful  parties,  sipping  their  coffee  under  the  shade  ;  or  watch- 
ing the  thousand  exhibitions  going  on  in  open  assemblies.  And  in 
the  Provinces,  every  man  who  can  have  a  spot  six  feet  by  ten 
in  the  free  air,  uses  it  to  sip  his  wine,  or  take  his  "potage" 
therein. 

In  Germany,  the  country-houses  seem  to  be  made  to  live  out  of 
doors,  and  people  everywhere  takg  their  meals,  or  receive  their 
friends  in  balconies  and  arbors.  Every  city  has  its  gardens  and  pro- 
menades, which  are  constantly  full.  There  are  open  air  games  too, 
where  old  and  young  take  part;  and  in  summer,  the  studying 
classes,  or  all  who  can  get  leisure,  are  off  on  pedestrian  tours  through 
the  Harz,  or  Switzerland,  or  nearer  home. 

There  is  throughout  Europe,  a  rich  animal  love  of  open  air  move- 
ment, of  plays  and  athletic  sports,  of  which  we  Americans  as 
a  people,  know  little.  A  Frenchman's  nerves  quicken  in  the  sun- 
light, even  as  the  organization  of  plants ;  and  a  German  would  be 
very  old  and  decrepid,  when  he  should  no  longer  enjoy  a  real  tum- 
bling frolic  with  his  children.  The  Englishman,  cold  as  he  is  in 
other  directions,  would  lose  his  identity  when  his  blood  did  not  flow 
fresher  at  a  bout  of  cricket,  or  a  good  match  with  the  oar.  We  on 
the  other  hand  are  utterly  indifferent  to  these  things.  We  might 
pull  at  a  boat-race,  but  it  would  be  as  men,  not  as  boys ;  because 
we  were  determined  the  Yankee  nation  should  never  be  beaten,  not 
because  we  enjoyed  it.  We  do  not  care  for  children's  sports.  We 
have  no  time  for  them.  There  is  a  tremendous,  earnest  WORK  to 
be  done,  and  we  cannot  spare  effort  for  play.  It  is  unmanly  to  roll 
a  ball  in  America.  Our  amusements  are  labors.  An  American 
travels  with  an  intensity  and  restlessness,  which  would  of  itself  ex- 


SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


haust  a  German ;  and  cur  city  enjoyments  are  the  most  wearying 
and  absurd  possible. 

We  like  being  together  well  enough,  but  our  gregarious  tenden- 
cies are  nearly  always  for  some  earnest  object.  We  can  crowd  for 
a  lecture  or  political  meeting,  but  as  to  gathering  in  a  coffee-garden 
or  in  a  park,  it  would  be  childish  (or  vulgar). 

I  have  noticed  here  this  contrast  to  the  Germans,  because  a  most 
important  subject  is  bound  with  it — a  subject  which  must  more  and 
more  demand  earnest  attention  from  our  scientific  men — I  mean, 
our  National  health. 

We  are  an  unhealthy  race.  No  one  can  doubt  it,  who  sees  the 
old  races  of  Europe.  Our  faces  are  thin,  complexions  sallow ; 
dyspepsia  and  consumption  are  universal  in  a  land,  which  in  all 
physical  comforts,  presents  the  greatest  advantages  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  health.  Life  may  be  as  long  in  the  average,  but  it  is  much 
less  enjoyed.  An  American  is  as  capable  of  strong  muscular  effort, 
and  is  as  enduring  as  a  European ;  but  he  does  not  get  half  the 
pleasure  from  his  vigor.  Indigestion  and  nervous  diseases  sour  the 
life  of  half  our  people.  The  evil  increases  too ;  and  the  probability 
is,  the  health  of  the  Nation  is  degenerating.  These  facts  are  noto- 
rious in  Europe,  and  our  sharp,  worn  American  faces  are  known 
everywhere.  There  is  much  disease  and  bodily  weakness  among 
the  poorer  classes  of  the  Old  AVorld  ;  but  in  classes,  enjoying  equal 
comforts,  it  will  be  found  that  the  Americans  are  confessedly  inferior 
in  robust  health.  The  dyspepsia,  which  so  curses  our  whole  popu- 
lation, is  comparatively  unknown  among  the  older  nations. 

In  accounting  for  this,  too  much  weight,  in  my  opinion,  is  laid  to 
the  effects  of  climate.  I  could  not  see  in  North  Germany  in  the 
autumn  and  winter,  or  in  Hungary  in  the  summer,  that  the  differ- 
ences in  climate  were  very  appreciable.  There  were  the  same 


MORE    PLAY!  189 


sudden  changes,  the  same  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  and  an  atmo- 
sphere quite  as  remarkable  for  dryness  as  our  own.     The  great  and 
sufficient  cause  will  be  found  to  be,  in  this  very  difference  in  respect 
to  out-door  exercise  and  amusement. 
We  work  too  hard,  and  play  too  little. 

Our  nervous  and  digestive  systems  cannot  sustain  such  an  intense 
action  of  brain,  as  the  American  life  demands,  without  frequent 
pleasant  muscular  exercise.  The  people  need'out-door  manly  sports, 
and  healthy  amusements.  Those  wearing,  formal  city  enjoyments, 
with  late  hours  and  unhealthy  fare,  and  those  most  useless  trips  to 
crowded  watering-places,  must  be  dropped  for  something  German- 
like  —  something  cheering,  healthful,  boyish  —  or  we  shall  be  a  nation 
of  dyspeptics. 

Other  causes  for  our  sickliness,  can  be  found  in  our  general 
habits  —  our  diet  —  our  excessive  greed  for  money  —  the  little  heed 
we  give  to  quiet  family  enjoyments.  And  if  in  these  respects,  I 
shall  be  able  to  show  how  much  vitally  important  to  our  future  we 
have  to  learn  from  the  Germans,  I  shall  have  written  to  good 
purpose. 

As  a  practical  conclusion,  I  would  say  to  every  man,  who  would 
deserve  well  of  his  country,  play  !  play  more  —  patronize,  encourage 
play  ! 

Why  should  bowling-alleys  and  cricket-clubs  be  given  up  to 
"  fast  men  ?  "  Why  should  rowing-matches  and  yacht-races,  fencing 
bouts  and  boxing  lessons,  fishing  and  shooting,  be  any  more  the 
privilege  of  "  the  world,"  than  the  church  ?  Why  should  not  re- 
spectable, moral,  religious  people  go  into  any,  or  all  of  these  as  they 
fancy,  and  'invigorate  their  bodies  and  cheer  the  mind  ?  Do  not  let  us 
grow  old  and  dyspeptic,  because  we  are  growing  more  religious. 


190  SOCIAL   LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


Let  there  be  something  of  healthful  boyhood  in  us  always  !  No 
sports,  but  what  are  pure,  humane  and  moral  in  tone;  but  where 
there  are  such,  let  no  notion  of  asceticism,  or  false  dignity  restrain 
us  !  Of  course  each  one  will  have  his  favorite  amusement ;  what- 
ever it  be,  let  him  remember  it  is  nearly  as  important  for  his  health 
of  mind  as  his  regular  work.  For  my  own  part,  as  a  "  brother  of 
the  angle,"  I  most  recommend  the  "  gentle  art." 

Those  cheery  mountain-walks,  the  clear  dashing  brooks,  the  air, 
the  light,  the  easy  occupation,  which  always  absorbs  just  enough  to 
let  the  full,  almost  unconscious  enjoyment  of  scenery  pour  into  the 
heart.  It  makes  one  a  boy  again  to  remember ! 


DECEMBER,  1850. 

The  concerts  still  continue,  and  are  a  great  treat  to  us  Americans. 
Every  Friday  afternoon,  we  have  in  the  coffee-gardens  out  of  the 
city,  instrumental  concerts,  where  Beethoven's  symphonies  are  given 
with  a  skill,  which  no  band  in  America  could  equal.  The  entrance 
fee  is  six  or  eight  cents,  and  each  visitor  is  expected  to  order  a  cup 
of  coffee,  or  mug  of  beer.  There  are  ladies  in  the  centre  of  the 
building  usually,  but  how  they  bear  that  condensed  atmosphere  of 
tobacco-smoke  is  a  mystery  to  me.  Where  I  sit  on  the  side,  I  could 
hardly  see  the  orchestra  for  the  thick  clouds  ;  and  though  somewhat 
hardened  to  "  the  weed  "  myself,  I  had  once  or  twice  to  cut  a  sym- 
phony in  the  midst ;  all  enjoyment  being  out  of  the  question,  amid 
such  a  burning  of  bad  tobacco. 

As  a  specimen  of  these  concerts,  I  give  a  programme  for  an  even- 
ing lately,  in  Liebig's  saloon. 


AMUSEMENTS.  19) 


OVERTURES. 
Iphigenia,  by  Gluck. 

Midsummer  Night's  Dream — Mendelssohn 
Don  Juan — Mozart. 
Coriolan — Beethoven. 

SYMPHONIES. 
G  Major — Haydn. 

The  Andante  from  C  Major — Mozart. 
C  Minor  (5th) — Beethoven. 

Of  the  other  concerts,  the  most  celebrated  are  given  by  the  Sing- 
Academie.  This  is  an  association  founded  by  Fasch  in  1789.  They 
only  hold  some  three  or  four  concerts  during  the  year,  and  usually 
sing  Oratorios  and  Masses.  This  season  they  have  given  Haydn's 
"  Creation"  and  a  Mass  by  Cherubini,  together  with  Handel's 
"Messiah"  and  "Sampson,"  and  Mendelssohn's  "  St.  Paul."  The 
admission  fee  is  seventy-five  cents  and  fifty  cents ;  when  they  sing 
in  the  Garrison  Church,  only  twenty-five  cents.  There  are  beside 
two  or  three  similar  societies,  but  less  important,  which  perform 
oratorios.  The  best  orchestral  music  is  from  the  Royal  Orchestral 
Society,  which  gives  a  series  of  nine  concerts.  I  copy  as  a  specimen 
of  their  evening,  a  late  programme.  On  this  occasion  only  three 
symphonies : 

1  Symphony  C  Minor — Haydn. 

2.  Symphony  A  Major — Mendelssohn. 

3.  Symphony  F  Major,  (8th) — Beethoven. 

More  commonly  there  are  two  Symphonies  and  two  Overtures, 
as  on  January  16. 

1.  Symphony  C  Minor — Gade. 

2.  Overture  to  Fingal's  Cave — Mendelssohn. 


SOCIAL   LIFE  IN   GERMANY 


3.  Overture,  Coriol  an—  Beethoven. 

4.  Symphony  Pastorale  —  Beethoven. 


The  price  of  admission  to  these  Concerts  is  the  same  as  at  the 
other— seventy-five  and  fifty  cents.  They  rank  so  high,  that  seats 
are  taken  by  families  year  by  year.  The  orchestra  numbers  from 
one  hundred  and  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  seventy  members,  of 
whom  one  half  must  be  all  the  time  occupied.  The  services 
required  are  performances  in  the  theatre  and  opera,  and  private  con- 
certs for  the  King.  Every  member  must  pass  a  severe  examination 
before  he  is  admitted ;  and  with  thousands  of  players,  the  great 
object  of  their  ambition  is  to  become  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Orchestra.  The  salaries  are  small,  but  are  increased,  so  as  to  sup- 
port the  members  when  they  are  superannuated. 

The  usual  price  for  the  chance  concerts,  corresponding  to  those 
we  have  at  home,  is  seventy-five  cents.  For  Jenny  Lind's,  it  was 
one  dollar  fifty,  and  seventy -five  cents. 

There  are  also  Quartette  and  Quintette  Soirees,  given  by  the  first 
artists  in  Berlin ;  similar  to  Eisfeldt's  in  New  York  and  those  of 
the  Mendelssohn  in  Boston. 

The  rehearsal  of  the  royal  bands  before  the  guard-house,  is  in 
itself  a  fine  entertainment.  From  fifty  to  one  hundred  instruments 
are  in  play,  and  you  hear  music  such  as  you  can  only  hear  at  home 
in  our  best  concerts. 

Of  Church  music,  not  much  can  be  said.  I  haye  often  listened 
with  intense  delight  to  the  choir  of  men  and  boys  in  the  Cathedral. 
Artists  tell  me,  that  there  is  no  choir  equal  to  it  in  the  world — not 
even  that  of  the  Sis  tine  Chapel.  They  sing  the  Psalms  and  Chants 
from.  Mendelssohn,  Neithardt,  and  all  the  best  composers.  I 


BIRTH-DAY   PARTY."  193 


heard,  too,  once,  MozarVs  Requiem,  from  a  grand  choir  of  operatic 
singers  in  the  Catholic  Church. 


DEOEMBEB,  1850. 

A  very  pleasant  "  birth-day  party  "  came  off  last  night  at  Pas- 
tor   ,  one  of  the  purest  Pietisten,  as  they  call  the  Evangelical 

orthodox.  I  went  at  about  eight  o'clock,  and  found  quite  a  large 
company  already  assembled ;  and  tea  and  rum  being  passed 

round.     Pastor received  me  in  his  usual  cordial  way,  and  I 

found  a  number  of  my  acquaintances  present.  If  I  might  be  al- 
lowed to  especially  mention  any,  whom  one  meets  in  the  Berlin  cir- 
cles, and  whose  names  are  already  widely  spread  in  other  lands,  I 
would  not  omit  the  genial  and  eloquent  Krumraacher,  a  man  so 
favorably  known  in  America ;  Nitsch,  the  most  scientific  and  pro- 
found of  the  Berlin  preachers,  and  the  successor,  I  beiieve,  of  Schleier- 
macher,  Snetlage,  the  court-preacher,  at  whose  house  such  pleasant 
companies  of  English  meet ;  Lepsius,  whom  I  had  not  the  pleasure 
of  knowing  personally,  famous  for  his  researches  in  Egypt ;  and 
Curtius,  the  youthful  Professor  of  Grecian  Art  in  the  University,  a 
man  who,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  will  win  the  gratitude  of  Prussia, 
when  the  results  of  his  free  and  earnest  course  of  instruction  with 
the  young  prince — the  future  king — shall  appear. 

There  were  several  rooms  open  this  evening.  In  one  there  was 
music  ;  in  another  were  people  playing  chess,  or  looking  over  prints ; 
and  in  another,  the  elder  part  of  the  company  engaged  in  conversa- 
tion. All  was  easy  and  social,  and  very  little  of  forced  enjoyment  ap- 
peared. At  half-past  nine  or  ten  began  the  most  social  part  of  the 
evening  around  the  supper  table,  with  the  sparkling  wit  and 
lively  conversation  for  which  the  Berliners  are  so  famous.  I  was 
struck  that  evening,  as  I  have  often  been  in  these  supper-parties,  by 


SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


the  superiority  of  the  Europeans  over  us  Americans  in  the  art  of 
conversation.  We  are  better  orators,  but  I  suspect  seldom  so  good 
conversationists.  Is  it  that  as  a  nation  we  are  too  earnest  for  "  small 
talk?" 

Another  peculiarity  in  most  of  German  society  which  would  at 
once  attract  an  American's  attention,  is  the  much  less  prominent  place 
woman  takes.  It  is  very  seldom,  you  hear  a  lady  taking  any  great 
share  in  table  conversation.  There  are  very  few  subjects  on  which 
her  opinion  or  her  feelings  seem  to  be  listened  to  with  much  atten- 
tion. It  is  quite  evident  she  has  a  very  different  position  from  what 
is  given  her  in  American  life.  And  I  may  add,  I  think  without 
presumption,  that  it  is  seldom  in  completeness  of  education,  she  can 
claim  the  same  position  with  the  ladies  of  our  educated  classes  at 
home.  There  is  something  too,  perhaps,  in  the  exceeding  strictness 
of  the  rules  of  society  here  with  regard  to  the  intercourse  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  which  may  have  checked  that  lively,  intellectual 
converse,  which,  after  all,  forms  often  one  of  the  best  means  of 
education. 

But  to  come  back  to  our  supper-table.  The  Berliners  are  not  at 
all  gross  eaters,  but  they  hold  firmly,  at  least  in  practice,  to  the  good 
old  German  idea — of  good  eating  being  the  aid  of  kindly  social 
feelings.  Through  all  the  old  world  much  more  of  the  best  social 
life  is  over  the  table  than  with  us  in  the  new.  Our  first  course 
here  was  fish,  the  Berlin  pike,  a  fish  resembling  our  pike,  but  coarser 
and  softer.  The  salmon  from  the  Elbe  too,  or  the  carp  from  the  Spree, 
are  much  eaten  in  this  way  at  supper.  This  was  folFawed  by  roast 
meat,  with  preserves  or  pickled  fruit.  Mutton  is  the  common  meat 
for  this,  sometimes  venison  or  turkey.  Then  came  the  pudding  or 
the  confectionery.  We  had,  as  an  imitation  of  the  English,  a  gen- 
uine "  plum-pudding,"  greatly  to  the  glee  of  the  children.  Accord- 


A   TOAST.  195 


ing  to  the  popular  idea  it  can  only  have  the  true  English  flavor  by 
heating  it  in  burning  alcohol ;  so  that  there  was  a  long  line  of  blaz- 
ing plates  down  the  table,  and  a  great  deal  of  sport  for  the  children, 
even  if  no  better  pudding.  The  last  course,  according  to  the 
universal  custom,  was  black  bread  and  cheese. 

Through  every  course  light  wines  were  passed  around,  either  Bor- 
deaux or  the  sour  Rhenish. 

Towards  the  close,  one  of  the  Pastor's  friends  rose,  rapped  on  the 
table  for  silence,  and  bade  the  company  fill  up  for  a  birth-day 
"health."  -Every  glass  was  filled,  and  the  speaker  commenced. 
He  mentioned  the  long  and  close  friendship  which  had  existed  be- 
tween him  and  their  revered  host ;  described  with  a  comical  touch 
their  early  difficulties  in  the  ministry ;  spoke  in  a  tone  which  called 
the  tears  to  many  an  eye  of  the  dear  hearts  who  had  been  with 
them  in  the  Morning,  and  were  gone  now  as  they  drew  towards  the 
Evening,  of  the  struggles  his  friend  had  had  with  the  infidelity  and 
indifference  of  the  nation,  and  the  abundant  success  which  had  been 
granted  him.  "  God  too  had  dealt  mercifully  with  his  family,"  he 
said,  and  she  was  with  him  still  who  had  so  sustained  him  in  his 
starting.  He  was  before  a  company  of  friends,  and  he  could  not 
avoid  speaking  with  thankfulness  of  the  light  which  she  had  thrown 
around  the  pathway  of  them  all — that  abounding  cheerfulness,  that 
patience,  that  entire  forgetfulness  of  selfish  pleasure  !  He  would 
propose  "  the  health  and  long  life  of  their  two  esteemed  friends,  the 
Pastor  and  his  wife  ! " 

It  was  drank  with  many  a  Hoch !  After  this  followed  several 
speeches,  all  full  of  that  genial  home-tone ;  and  about  half-past 
eleven,  we  broke  up.  The  evening  had  been  a  delightful  one;  and 
there  was  much  to  interest  me  as  I  recalled  the  conversation. 

Political  subjects  do  not  form  a  great  topic  just  at  present  for 


X96  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


Berlin  table-talk.  Every  man  of  whatever  party  is  so  thoroughly 
dissalis6ed  with  the  present  state  of  political  affairs,  and  so  hopeless 
of  the  future,  that  it  seems  as  if  any  mention  of  the  subject  was 
carefully  avoided,  and  they  all  took  refuge  in  their  wit  and  their 
literature  to  escape  the  thoughts  of  it. 

As  I  see  the  quick  joke  pass  around  and  hear  especially  those  keen 
stories  which  the  Berliners  so  delight  to  tell,  against  the  heavy, 
"material"  English,  it  often  seems  to  me  like  the  wit  of  the  Greeks 
as  their  degradation  was  coming  on,  against  the  sturdy  Romans  ;  the 
wit  of  an  intellectual  race  which  is  losing  its  power  to  act. 

I  have  spoken  before  of  the  unbelief  or  indifference  on  religious 
matters  which  meets  one  everywhere  in  German  life.  There  was 
little  of  it  apparent  in  such  a  company  as  met  at  my  friends ;  still, 
in  general,  it  is  a  trait  of  Berlin  society. 

The  city  seems  still  somewhat  to  deserve  its  old  name,  "  The 
Voltairian  Berlin  ;"  though  one  must  confess  there  is  nothing  of 
the  maliciousness  of  Voltaire  in  its  unbelief.  And  yet  from 
this,  there  is  much  less  danger  to  one  mingling  with  the  Germans 
than  would  be  supposed.  If  I  might  be  allowed  to  speak  of  my 
own  experience,  I  would  say,  and  with  deep  gratitude,  that  my  faith 
has  only  been  strengthened  by  my  experience  of  the  want  of  faith 
among  the  Germans.  I  feel  this  the  more  gratefully,  for  after  all, 
when  the  best  and  noblest  spirits  around  one,  doubt,  it  is  seldom 
that  even  the  strongest  belief  can  remain  altogether  unshaken.  So 
far  as  I  can  judge,  too,  the  faith  is  not  in  this  case  from  that  home- 
sick love  which  every  man  under  almost  any  religion, 'feels  for  the 
teachings  of  his  childhood  in  a  strange  land.  But  I  cannot  help 
seeing  that  the  Germans  are  not  at  all  happy  under  the  change, 
that  there  is  a  dissatisfaction,  a  sense  of  want  in  their  present  condi- 
tion, which  speaks  most  painfully  of  the  injury  they  have  done  their 


A    LETTER.  197 


own  natures.  And  besides,  the  more  I  see  of  them  and  of  men 
generally,  the  more  I  am  convinced  that  even  in  the  practical  emer- 
gencies of  life,  no  height  of  moral  principle,  no  nobleness  of 
character,  can  in  any  way  take  the  place  of  the  religious  Principle; 
that  there  is  a  certain  "  ground- trait,"  a  certain  reliableness  even  in 
every-day  difficulties  in  the  religious  character,  which  no  mere 
moral  culture  can  ever  give,  and  which  is,  to  my  mind,  one  of  the 
best  proofs  of  its  origin. 

It  will  make  my  impressions  of  German  Social  Life  more  fresh 
to  others,  to  give  an  extract  from  a  private  letter  written  about  this 
time. 

"  Mr  L)EAR  J.— *  *  *     I  want  to  tell  you  about  my  friends.     I 

have  spoken  often  of  Mr.  T .     He  is  a  retired  merchant,  living 

in  a  very  pleasant  house ;  a  warm-hearted,  social,  seasible  man. 
*  Fraulein  F.,  his  daughter,  who  keeps  house  for  him,  has  a 
kind  of  suffering,  pressed-down  look,  which  wears  off  as  she  becomes 
interested  in  the  conversation,  and  which  is  owing,  probably,  to  a 
great  sorrow  a  few  years  ago — the  death  of  her  betrothed.  She 
is  full  of  kindness,  with  the  shape  of  head  and  marked  features, 
which  indicate  strong  feelings.  She  is  simple,  heartfelt,  and  self- 
sacrificing,  and  her  kind  manners  give  one  the  impression,  at  first, 
she  is  very  amiable  and  nothing  else ;  but  after  a  while,  you  seo 
under  this,  that  there's  a  strong  understanding  anJ  •»  very  vigorous 
character.  Her  mind  is  not  the  most  highly  cultivated,  but  in  all 
this  family,  there  is  such  a  taste  for  Art,  that  it  in  some  degree  has 
made  up  for  this,  and  she  has  an  excellent  practical  sense.  Her 
impulses  are  kind  and  noble — and  she  will  grow.  *  *  *  I  will 
not  describe  her  sister.  She  might  have  been  a  genius  in  other 


198  SOCIAL    LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


training — as  it  is,  she  is  the  simplest— sometimes  most  deep-see- 
ing, unpracticalest,  phantasirendste  Frdulein  (most  phantasizing 
young  lady)  I  know — yet  again  not  highly  cultivated,  except  by 
her  own  dreams.  There  is  one  son  at  home — a  merchant — been  in 
Southern  India  some  years — rather  witty  and  boylike.  Like  all  the 
family  he  draws  well.  The  other  children  are  married,  and  all  live 
close  by  in  the  same  block.  One  is  an  artist;  a  deep-feeling, 
under-thinking,  somewhat  sceptical  man,  with  decided  genius. 
*  *  *  I  visit  here  every  day — sometimes  to  Morgencaffee 
(morning  coffee) — generally  to  Friihstuck  (breakfast)  at  eleven ; 
chat  with  the  ladies ;  go  down  with  the  father  and  visit  his  friends ; 
dine  with  them,  when  I  am  not  engaged  out ;  then  after  dinner 
walk  with  the  ladies,  and  in  evening  call  on  others,  or  meet  them 
again  at  half-past  eight  o'clock  to  supper.  The  meals  are  the  most 
pleasant  and  social  affairs  I  ever  saw. 

"  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  dear  J •,  and  don't  laugh  ! — that 

the  true  view  of  human  life,  would  bring  in  eating  as  an  important 
element.  Not  eating  as  a  mere  means  of  animal  pleasure,  but — 
first  as  the  embrace  and  the  kiss  are  at  once  the  expressions  and  the 
aid  of  affection — so  eating  as  an  expression  of  joy  and  an  aid  of 
sociality.  We  might  wish  to  have  sociality  and  the  higher  inter- 
course freed  entirely  from- the  bodily  influence,  and  purely  spiritual. 
But  they  never  are ;  and  for  some  wise  reason,  there  is  no  lofty 
emotion  which  is  entirely  separate  from  bodily  states. 

"  I  am  disposed — not  like  Jane  Eyre  and  perhaps  Emerson — to  be- 
lieve that  the  true  course,  is  to  sanctify  eating.  Not'to  look  down 
upon  it — but  to  make  it  a  means  of  the  higher  influences.  This 
seems  to  me  the  idea  of  the  Bible.  As  was  natural  in  an  early  age, 
eating  in  the  Old  Testament  was  always  the  expression  of  happi- 
ness and  sociality.  In  the  New,  is  it  not  remarkable,  how  much 


EATING.  190 


Christ  is  spoken  of  at  meals  ?  His  noblest  thoughts,  his  freest  out- 
pourings of  real  feeling  are  at  the  table,  where  good  cheer  has  been. 
His  best  speeches  and  teachings  are  often  at  dinner.  The  peculiar 
rites — yes,  the  only  rite — which  he  transmits,  is  the  changing  of  the 
convivial  meal  into  a  remembrance  of  Him.  His  appearance  after 
the  crucifixion  is  at  the  breakfast  table.  And  His  last  appearance 
on  earth,  is  at  a  dinner  in  the  open  air.  Is  not  this  the  idea  of  the 
Grace? 

"  As  Charles  Lamb  said,  '  He  could  not  see  why  he  should  thank 
God  more  for  a  dinner,  than  for  a  new  pair  of  boots !'  I  have  felt 
this  so,  that  I  have  asked  God  '  to  bless  us  in  this,  even  the  smallest 
action  of  our  lives  !' 

"  But  is  not  the  real  idea,  that  the  meal  is  one  of  the  best  aids  of 
sociality  and  best  expressions  of  happiness ;  and  that  in  that  time 
of  friendly,  pleasant  intercourse,  we  especially  want  the  aid  of  God 
and  His  company,  in  making  it  all  noble  and  good  ? 

"  Is  not  every  meal  a  Lord's  supper — and  should  not  every  Lord's 
supper  be  a  social  meal  ? 

"  Is  not  this  the  healthy,  natural  idea  of  eating — of  a  man,  who 
had  not  been  a  glutton  and  was  now  reacting — with  good  appetite 
and  social  affections  ?  I  fear  this  sounds  irreverent  in  some  parts, 
but  it  should  not.  Of  course,  you  will  say  it  is  '  dangerous,'  and 
that  if  Appetite  and  Duty  were  in  the  same  path,  men  would  go 
with  a  rush.  I  do  not  mean -to  say,  you  know,  that  I  hold  precisely 
this — but  something  like  it — at  any  rate,  you  can  think  of  it.  Don't 
think  that  my  lips  are  smacking  now  with  the  remembrance  of  my 
German  dinners  !  If  I  could  have  a  tip-top  Senator  Meyer  German 
dinner,  with  eighteen  courses  and  wines,  all  by  myself,  I  should  not 
prefer  it  to  my  bouillon  and  ganseklein  (soup  and  roast  goose)  fo.r 


200  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY 


seven  and  a  half  cents — but  give  me  a  company  or  family-dinner, 
where  thought  and  kind  feeling  and  language  are  waked  up  by  the 
good  cheer,  if  it  be  only  tea,  and  bread  and  butter,  and  I  confess  T 
do  like  it  far  better.1' 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE    GERMAN    CATHOLICS. 

December,  I860. 

AMONG  my  friends  here,  are  a  family,  to  whom  I  have  become 
especially  attached,  who  are  followers  of  Ronge  (pronounced,  Rong- 
ffay],  or  "  German  Catholics,"  as  they  are  called.  I  have  been  at- 
tracted to  them  by  their  genial  humanity,  and  their  free,  democratic 
principles ;  and  through  them  have  become  acquainted  with  several 
of  their  persuasion. 

I  accompanied  them  last  Sunday,  to  hear  their  preacher,  Mr. 
Brauner,  who  was  formerly  a  Catholic  priest.  A  small,  meagre 
man,  who  spoke  with  a  fire  and  enthusiasm,  you  would  not  expect 
from  his  appearance. 

His  sermon  was  on  "  Love,"  showing  the  progress  of  love  for  the 
individual,  to  the  wider  and  more  unselfish  love  for  mankind ; 
touching  sadly  on  the  evils  now,  which  are  cursing  Germany,  but 
full  of  confident  hope  that  a  better  Future  was  dawning  on  hu- 
manity, when  Love  should  govern  the  relations  of  rulers  to  subjects, 
and  state  to  state,  as  well  as  those  of  man  to  man.  The  heaven- 
appealing  oppressions  in  Hesse  were  denounced  in  a  tone,  which  I 
have  heard  yet  from  no  pulpit  in  Prussia ;  and  the  supineness  and 
time-serving  disposition  of  the  Protestant  clergy  met  with  a  stern 
rebuke. 

9* 


202  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMAN! 


"Let  us  have  courage,"  was  the  conclusion.  "Time  will  change 
it  all !  We  are  going  hence,  soon  to  be  absorbed  into  the  world- 
spirit  (Welt-geist)  ;  oiy  feeble  and  selfish  iove  to  be  merged  into 
His  eternal  and  ineffable  Love ;  and  the  times  and  events  all  tend 
thither !" 

The  whole — church  and  preacher — struck  me  as  in  consistency 
with  this  Ronge  movement — the  union  of  the  old  and  the  new,  of 
the  venerable  Past  with  the  reforming  Present — chanting  of  litur- 
gies, with  a  popular,  transcendental  sermon  ;  antique  panel-pictures 
in  carved  oak,  set  into  modern  brick  walls ;  and  dear  old  stiff  paint- 
ings of  martyrs  with  gilt  images  of  saints,  lighted  by  nineteenth 
century  chandeliers ;  and  to  crown  it  all,  a  man  who  had  been  a 
Catholic  priest,  declaiming  over  one  of  the  carved  pulpits  of  the 
middle  ages,  on  unlimited  democracy,  and  denouncing  tyranny 
as  boldjy  as  an  American  stump  orator.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  the 
analogy  goes  no  farther,  for  the  church  had  all  the  inconveniences, 
with  none  of  the  associations,  of  the  old  buildings  ;  it  was  very 
damp  without  being  antique. 

In  walking  home  with  my  friends,  I  told  one  of  them — Madame 

,  a  very  spirituelle  and  benevolent  lady — how  much  I  had  liked 

the  sermon  in  the  main  ;  that  it  seemed  to  me  freer  and  bolder  than 
any  I  had  heard ;  but  that  some  allusions  towards  the  close,  were 
hardly  plain  to  me.  "  Do  you  all  believe,"  said  I,  "  that  your  souls 
are  absorbed  into  God,  or  are  you  only  speaking  figuratively  ?" 

"  We  do,"  said  she,  "  and  the  most  of  our  sect,  though  it  is  not 
an  article  of  our  creed." 

"  But,  that  our  souls  have  no  individual  existence  at  all  after 
death  ?"  I  inquired. 

"  They  live  in  God,"  she  answered,  "  in  so  far  as  they  are  pure 


A    ''RONGIST."  203 

and  good.      The  evil  in  them  perishes.      God  and  they  will  be 
one !" 

"  And  do  none  of  you  expect  to  meet  those  you  love,  again  f " 
said  I.  "  Have  you  no  hope  of  living  on  and  working  for  others' 
happiness  ?  Is  your  Ich  (I)  to  disappear  altogether  and  forever  ? 
Can  you  bear  to  think  that  this  half-life  is  all  ?" 

"  Wo  can  bear  to  think  what  God  has  appointed  us,"  she  an- 
swered. "We  believe  that  our  friends  and  ourselves  will  be  hap- 
pier, or  rather  better,  by  complete  union  with  HIM  !  We  do  not 
ask  for  a  reunion  with  them,  but  for  something  higher — a  reunion 
with  God  !" 

"But  can  you  preach  this  to  men  when  thev  are  in  suffering  and 
sorrow  1  Can  you  tell  them  that  there  is  no  remedy  for  this — 
no  other  life,  where  there  is  peace  and  rest  again  ?  Are  they  to  die 
with  no  hope  beyond  ?  Is  this  most  incomplete,  mysterious  exist- 
ence to  be  all  ?  How  are  you  ever  to  place  motives  in  the  Future, 
Defore  the  sinful,  if  there  is  no  Hereafter  ? " 

"  That  is  it !  "  said  she.  "  Precisely  for  that  reason,  we  believe  God 
takes  away  a  future  life,  except  as  it  is  in  Himself.  You  Protestants 
have  frightened  men  into  goodness,  or  bought  them  with  promises. 
We  want  a  holiness  which  does  not  care  for  a  Future,  which  rests 
in  God  alone.  We  do  not  believe  in  the  goodness  that  fears  Hell, 
or  looks  forward  to  Heaven.  Our  idea  of  holiness  is  that  Love  which 
embraces  all,  without  thought  of  anything  but  the  happiness  of  those 
who  need  happiness.  Not  selfishness,  not  looking  to  reward  or 
praise,  but  the  Love  of  Truth  because  it  is  truth,  even  if  there  were 
no  God;  the  purpose  to  sacrifice  happiness,  pleasure,  everything  for 
those  who  are  suffering  and  helpless  and  guilty." 

"  We  believe,  Herr  B.,  that  just  as  Protestantism  with  its  spirit- 
ual life  has  supplanted  Romanism,  so  this  belief  of  ours  will  grad- 


204  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


ually  cover  the  world.  It  may  need  time,  but  it  is  sure ;  it  has 
God's  Spirit  with  it !  " 

I  will  not  detail  the  conversation  farther.  I  was  impressed  with 
the  beauty  and  purity  of  their  ideas,  and  their  enthusiasm  for  them, 
though  it  could  not  but  be  sad  to  me,  believing  that  these  theories 
without  their  beautiful  accompaniments  would  gradually  work  among 
the  masses  here,  and  produce,  as  they  have  done  so  often  before, 
universal  skepticism  and  irreligion.  I  inquired  after  we  reached 
the  house,  whether  all  their  preachers  were  equally  bold  on  politi- 
cal subjects.  "  Yes,"  said  they ;  "  we  want  men  who  are  not  afraid 
to  speak  of  rulers  as  well  as  ruled,  and  our  ranks  are  crowded  with 
those  from  the  Protestant  churches,  who  cannot  believe  that  system 
true  ;  they  say  that  no  jpure  faith  could  support  clergymen,  so  con- 
servative and  truckling  to  authorities,  (Obrigkeiten)  as  these  in 
Prussia." 

I  must  here,  though  not  denying  the  errors  of  this  sect  of  German 
Catholics,  express  my  hearty  admiration  for  the  tone  of  their  preachers 
on  public  matters.  Theirs  are  the  only  pulpits  where  a  man  dares 
gets  up  and  speak  a  word  of  sympathy  for  the  immense  masses  of 
crushed  and  oppressed  men  in  Germany  ;  the  only  place  where  one 
hears  of  the  rights  of  the  subject,  as  well  as  of  the  "  respect  for  au- 
thorities," and  where  the  idea  is  sometimes  broached,  that  one  of 
the  results  of  Christian  Love  is  to  be  FREEDOM  for  man. 

I  asked  my  friends,  whether  they  had  experienced  no  annoyance 
from  belonging  to  such  a  heretical  sect.  "  We  have,"  they  said, 
"  the  Government  is  bitterly  opposed  to  us.  We  are"  not  even  le- 
gally recognized  yet ;  and  our  children  may  lose  the  right  of  citizen- 
ship possibly,  from  not  being  confirmed  by  an  orthodox  pastor." 

I  saw  much  afterwards  of  these  persons,  and  of  various  members 
of  the  sect,  and,  I  must,  confess,  that  in  practical  benevolence,  in  a 


ORIGIN    OF    THE   SECT.  205 


genial  humanity,  and  in  all  the  evidences  of  a  sincere  love  of 
God,  they  seem  to  me  quite  equal  to  any  of  the  more  orthodox 
denominations.  -V 

The  German  Catholics  are  to  occupy  no  unimportant  place  in  the 
political  development  of  Germany,  and  a  brief  account  here  of  their 
progress  and  principles  may  be  of  interest 

Probably  few  of  my  readers  will  forget  the  thrill  of  surprise  and 
hopeful  feeling  which  passed  through  the  American  people  when,  a 
few  years  ago,  the  news  of  a  bold  movement  in  the  heart  of 
the  Romanist  Church  of  Germany,  and  of  the  formation  of  the 
new  sect  of  the  "  German  Catholics,"  came  over  to  us.  Not  many, 
probably,  know  the  singularly  different  direction  the  whole  move- 
ment has  taken  since  that  time. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  after  the  Congress  of  1815,  the 
general  position  of  Roman  Catholicism  in  Germany  became,  from  the 
re-action  of  the  French  Revolution,  as  well  as  the  measures  of  the 
Congress  and  various  other  causes,  much  strengthened.  Footholds 
were  soon  gained  even  in  the  Protestant  States,  and  rights  were 
publicly  granted  to  the  Pope  and  his  ministers  in  Hanover,  Bavaria 
and  Prussia,  such  as  before  they  had  not  even  ventured  to  claim. 
Encouraged  by  this  success,  further  attempts  were  made,  and  the 
marriage  of  Protestants  with  Catholics  was  attacked  with  a  vigor 
and  lordly  authority  which  might  have  belonged  to  the  proudest 
days  of  the  Roman  Church.  These  last  efforts  struck  at  the  very 
heart  of  society,  and  threatened  to  disturb  the  peace  of  thousands 
of  families  through  all  Germany.  In  Silesia  and  East  Prussia,  espe- 
cially, the  excitement  over  them  was  intense,  and  even  the  govern- 
ment of  Prussia  entered  into  a  controversy  on  the  matter.  At 
length,  as  a  climax  to  these  efforts,  a  grand  blow  was  struck  in  the 
provinces  of  Rhenish  Prussia.  There,  on  the  great  highway  of 


206  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


nations,  in  these  matter-of-fact,  unbelieving  days,  a  leading  Arch 
bishop  of  the  Church  of  Rome  had  the  presumption,  and  not  only 
the  presumption,  but  the  success,  to  collect  more  than  half  a  million 
of  men  from  all  parts  of  Germany,  at  immense  expense  and  suffer 
ing,  to  worship  an  old  coat,  which  he  affirmed  to  be  the  coat  of 
Jesus,  and  to  induce  them  to  give  their  trouble  and  money  as  an 
offering  to  it !  One  can  hardly  understand  it ;  and  if  it  were  not 
for  the  most  convincing  records,  we  should  say  at  cnce  it  was  one 
of  the  fictions  of  the  enemies  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  Yet  such 
was  the  fact,  and  a  fact  dating  only  seven  years  back  !  This  was 
the  last,  however,  of  these  attempts  to  bring  back  the  middle  ages. 
Amid  the  lull  of  astonishment  and  indignant  feeling  through  all 
Germany,  at  such  a  daring  assault  on  human  Reason  on  so  grand  a 
scale,  there  came  forth  from  an  obscure  priest  in  Upper  Silesia,  a 
letter — a  letter  whose  thrilling  effects  through  the  German  nations 
we  cannot  understand,  without  appreciating  the  preparation  of  the 
people  for  it,  caused  by  these  various  movements  of  the  Romanist 
Church — the  Laurahutte  Letter  of  Ronge.  "  For  a  long  time," 
it  begins,  "  like  a  fable,  like  a  tale,  has  it  rung  in  our  ears,  that  the 
Bishop  Arnold  of  Triers,  has  exhibited  for  worship  and  religious 
reverence,  a  piece  of  clothing  called  the  coat  of  Christ.  Ye  have 
heard  it,  Christians  of  the  nineteenth  century !  Ye  know  it,  Ger- 
"man  men !  Ye  know  it,  teachers  of  the  people  and  teachers  of 
religion  1  Tt  is  no  fable  and  tale — it  is  reality  and  truth  !"  Then, 
after  a  vivid  exposure  of  the  idolatry,  as  well  as  the  injury  to  the 
•  poor  people,  in  expenses  which  they  could  little  afford,  from  the 
exhibition,  he  says :  "  Bishop  Arnold  of  Triers,  I  turn  myself  then 
to  you,  and  in  virtue  of  my  office  and  calling  as  priest,  as  a  teacher 
of  the  German  people,  and  in  the  name  of  Christianity  and  the 
German  nation,  I  call  upon  you  to  put  an  end  to  this  unchristian 


RONGE'S   LETTER.  207 


exhibition  of  the  holy  coat,  to  withdraw  the  article  from  public  no- 
tice, and  to  make  the  scandal  no  greater  than  it  is  !  For  do  you  not 
know — as  Bishop  you  should  know — that  the  Founder  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  left  to  his  disciples  and  followers,  not  his  coat  but  his 
Spirit?  His  coat,  Bishop  of  Arnold  of  Triers,  belongs  to  his 
executioners  /"  Without  following  the  letter  through  farther,  we 
would  only  say,  it  is  a  most  impassioned,  spirited  appeal  against  the 
imposture,  and  shows  a  mind  burning  with  intense  hatred  of  oppres- 
sion in  all  forms. 

It  met  at  once  with  a  response  through  thousands  of  hearts. 
Within  twenty  days  one  congregation  had  separated  itself  from  the 
Catholic  Church,  at  Schneidemuhl,  and  their  priest  was  to  be  heard 
celebrating  the  mass  in  the  German  language.  In  a  little  longer 
time,  Rouge  himself  was  summoned  to  assist  in  the  formation  of  a 
large  and  influential  church  in  Breslau,  composed  altogether  of 
those  who  had  been  Catholics,  and  based  on  the  freest  Protestant 
principles  ;  while  the  idea  spread  itself  with  more  and  more  power 
that  a  new  and  glorious  Church  was  to  be  formed,  freed  from  the 
defects  of  the  Romanist  Church,  and  yet  so  independent  of  the 
Protestant  as  to  attract  those  from  the  Romanist  body,  who  would 
otherwise  find  many  prejudices  in  their  way.  Such  was  the  first 
influence  of  the  "  Laurahutte  Letter." 

To  Ronge  himself  this  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  sudden 
movement.  According  to  his  own  account,  and  what  other  evi- 
dence I  can  get  access  to,  he  had  been  now  for  four  years  deeply 
agitated  with  indignation  at  these  mummeries  of  the  Church  which 
he  had  once  so  filially  trusted,  and  with  doubts  of  the  whole  sound- 
ness of  its  system.  In  1839,  with  hopes  of  a  quiet,  useful  calling, 
as  religious  teacher,  he  had  entered  a  seminary  for  the  education  of 
priests.  He  was  not  there  long,  without  finding  his  confidence  in 


208  SOCIAL   LIFE   IN   GERMANY". 


the  general  spirit  of  the  church  shaken  ;  and  from  that  time  till  he 
entered  on  his  office  as  priest  in  Grottkau,  in  1841,  he  appears  to 
have  become  more  and  more  conscious  of  the  unmanning,  de- 
basing influence  of  the  principles  in  vogue  among  his  brother 
priests. 

In  entering  on-  the  sacred  office,  he  tells  us  he  was  determined 
that  for  his  part  he  should  be,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  a 
Teacher  of  the  people,  and  that  without  fear  or  hypocrisy,  be  would 
speak,  what  he  thought  the  truth.  Under  such  a  determination,  he 
naturally  soon  brought  himself  into  trouble.  And  during  the  next 
three  years,  at  various  times  he  found  himself  accused  of  all  kinds 
of  heresies — of  wearing  his  robes  too  short  and  his  hair  too  long, 
of  teaching  German  history  in  the  children's  schools,  of  deviating 
too  much  from  the  catechism  in  his  instructions,  of  talking  too 
much  of  faith  and  too  little  of  works,  and  divers  other  misdeeds  of 
the  kind,  until  at  length  a  letter  of  his,  addressed  to  the  Cathedral- 
Chapter  at  Breslau,  exposing  various  corruptions  and  superstitions 
in  their  midst,  caused  his  suspension  from  his  office.  During 
this  suspension,  while  at  Laurahutle,  he  wrote  his  celebrated  "  Let- 
ter." 

In  regard  to  the  subsequent  career  of  Honge  not  much  can  be 
said.  He  appears  to  have  assisted  for  a  while  in  the  formation  of 
the  new  churches  among  the  German  Catholics,  and  to  have  given 
his  impassioned,  spirited  style  of  writing,  heartily  to  the  aid  of  the 
new  movement.  Men  hailed  him  for  a  time  as  a  second  Luther. 
But  gradually,  whether  from  the  fact  that  in  cultivation  and  gene- 
ral learning  he  did  not  correspond  to  the  place  he  was  taking ;  or 
because  so  long  in  a  cloistered  life,  he  had  lost  his  practical  power 
over  men,  his  influence  became  less  and  less.  Then  occurred  some 
events  in  his  private  life,  in  respect  to  which  there  are  very  different 


RONGE'S    CHARACTER.  209 

opinions.  In  fact  in  regard  to  these  as  well  as  the  general  character 
of  the  man,  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  any  definite  information. 

The  orthodox  and  conservative  parties  detest  him,  the  Catholics 
hate  him,  and  the  Freien-Gemeinden  seem  equally  strong  on  the 
other  side.  The  fact,  at  least,  is  certain  that  he  married  ano- 
ther man's  wife,  though  it  is  claimed  she  had  been  first  legally  di- 
vorced. Soon  after  this,  a  violent  letter  appeared  from  him  against 
the  King  of  Prussia,  and  in  order  to  escape  trial  and  the  imprison- 
ment which  was  threatened,  he  fled  to  England,  where  he  is  probably 
living  at  the  present  time. 

Whatever  the  man  may  have  become  afterward,  every  appear- 
ance shows  him  to  have  been  honest  and  sincere  in  his  first  move- 
ment against  the  Roman  Church.  It  was  no  easy  thing  for  a  quiet 
recluse  to  leave  his  calm  pursuits,  his  companions,  his  means  of  sup- 
port, and,  without  any  knowledge  of  the  results,  to  step  out  boldly 
in  the  world  and  strike  such  a  blow  as  that  against  the  corruptions 
of  the  Old  Church.  It  was  a  bold,  manly  stroke,  and  for  that  let 
us  give  him  honor. 

But  to  our  account  again  of  the  Freien-Gemeinden,  or  German 
Catholics.  The  first  important  church,  as  I  have  said  before,  was 
formed  at  Breslau,  and  under  the  freest  Protestant  and  Congrega- 
tional principles.  The  supremacy  of  the  Pope,  forced  celibacy, 
"  confession,"  were  rejected,  together  with  the  practices  of  praying 
to  saints  and  worshiping  relics.  The  Scripture  was  to  be  opened 
to  all,  the  church  services  to  be  performed  in  the  German  language, 
and  entire  freedom  of  conscience  and  belief  to  be  secured  to  each 
man.  Every  Gemeinde  or  "  congregation  "  was  to  be  entirely  inde- 
pendent, and  to  have  the  power  of  choosing  its  own  pastor ;  and  if 
synods  met,  they  were  to  be  endowed  with  no  power  other  than 
advisatory. 


210  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


This  was  followed  by  the  founding  of  numerous  other  churches 
through  Germany  on  a  similar  basis,  and  in  1845  the  first  Synod 
of  the  new  sect  assembled  in  Leipsic.  The  principles  declared  by 
this  Synod  were  similar  to  those  stated  above,  except  that  after 
great  discussion,  a  new  form  of  creed  was  established,  very  much  the 
same  with  the  Apostles'  Creed,  with  the  exception  that  nothing  is 
said  of  "  Christ  being  the  Son  of  God,"  or  of  his  "  dying  for  our 
sins."*  And  now  began  to  appear  the  great  direction  of  the  sect. 
It  was  not  so  much  in  maintaining  of  the  doctrine  of  faith  as  opposed 
to  works,  nor  in  the  opposition  to  the  Roman  Church,  that  the 
movement  found  its  life.  It  was  a  struggle  for  perfectly  untram- 
meled  belief.  All  the  freest,  most  ultra  thinkers  through  Germany 

*  We  give  an  abslract  of  some  of  the  principles  of  the  Creed,  set  forth  by 
this  assembly  at  Leipsic. 

(11)  "  The  foun  lation  of  the  Christian  Faith  shall-  be  singly  and  alone  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  whose  interpretation  and  exposition  is  given  entirely  to  the 
Reason,  penetrated  and  moved  by  the  Christian  Idea." 

For  Creed  they  give  among  the  articles,  (12)  "  I  believe  on  God  the  Fa- 
ther, who  created  by  his  omnipotent  Word,  the  world,  and  who  governs  it 
in  wisdom,  justice  and  love.  I  believe  on  Jesus  Christ,  our  Holy  One.  I 
believe  on  the  Holy  Spirit ;  a  holy,  universal  Christian  Church;  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins,  and  life  everlasting.  Amen." 

(9)  "We  allow  full  freedom  of  conscience,  free  investigation  and  inter- 
pretation of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  limited  by  no  external  authority  ;  we  ab- 
hor all  force,  hypocrisy  and  all  lies,  and  we  find  in  the  difference  of  the 
interpretation  of  our  articles  of  Faith,  no  ground  for  separation  or  condem- 
nation." 

(10)  "  We  recognize  only  two  Sacraments— Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per." 

Marriage  in  the  13th  is  declared  a  civil  contract,  and  (14)  "We  believe 
and  confess,  that  it  is  the  first  duty  of  the  Christian  to  exercise  his  Faith  in 
works  of  Christian  Lave." 


THE    RESULTS.  *11 

joined  it — all  those  most  filled  with  enthusiasm  and  not  always 
most  judicious  in  their  efforts  for  the  progress  of  freedom  and  liberal 
ideas  among  men.  Its  basis  soon  appeared  not  so  much  a  religious 
one  as  simply  the  desire  for  freedom*  The  wildest  forms  of  reli- 
gious belief  started  up  in  the  sect.  The  personality  of  God  was  de- 
nied and  the  existence  of  a  future  life.  Men  were  mere  emanations 
of  the  great  Wcltgeist,  (World-spirit.)  to  return  and  be  absorbed 
in  Him  at  death.  The  divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures  was 
only  a  dogma  of  Jewish  tradition,  and  any  other  character  to  Christ 
than  that  of  a  pure  and  benevolent  philosopher  could  never  be  main- 
tained ;  and  there  arose  a  wing  of  the  party,  represented  by  Wisli- 
cenus,  who  could  not  rank  otherwise  than  as  infidels  and  atheists. 
The  sect  naturally  attracted  the  attention  of  government,  and  it  was 
supposed  most  truly  to  be  a  nursery  of  democratic  ideas  and  dan- 
gerous political  sentiments.  In  Vienna,  where  the  Gemeinden  had 
numbered  some  10,000,  the  whole  society,  in  the  reaction  of '49, 
was  utterly  suppressed.  In  Prussia  they  have  had  many  difficulties, 
but  have  succeeded  in  keeping  their  foothold.  By  the  Constitution 
of  this  year,  all  religious  societies  are  allowed  their  legal  place  in  the 
State  ;  but  it  remains  a  question  whether  this  is  a  religious  society 
.or  a  corporation — an  important  question  for  the  Gemeinde  ;  for  if 
the  pastor  is  not  a  legal  pastor,  no  child  baptized  by  him  can  have 

*  Wagner  in  his  Report  to  the  Assembly  of  German  Catholics  at  Halber- 
stadt  1849,  thus  defines  their  principles  of  Union. 

(1)  "A  Protest  against  the  Old  Church,  with  all  its  tendencies,  traditions 
and  doctrines,  with  its  power  and  its  claims,  and  (2)  the  unlimited  struggling 
after  knowledge  and  perfection  in  the  spiritual  ground,  and  after  the  uncon- 
ditional independence  of  each  congregation." 

Uhlich  defines  their  principle,  as  ''The  freedom  of  the  human  mind." 
Herrendorfer,  as  an  assertion  that  "  all  knowledge  comes  from  the  Thought 
of  man  ;  a  Divine  Revelation,  there  is  not." 


212  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


a  citizen's  rights — can  hold  property,  or  peddle  goods,  or  shoot  an 
enemy  of  Prussia,  legally  !  As  I  said  before,  their  practical  benev- 
olence and  their  popular  sympathies,  I  heartily  respect.  There  are 
many  individuals  too  among  them  whose  views  are  not  very  dis- 
similar from  our  own.  But,  as  a  whole,  one  can  find  little -jeligious 
character  in  the  sect.  The  wildest,  vaguest  dreams  of  German  phi- 
losophy appear  to  constitute  their  religious  belief,  and  to  be  the  oh 
ject  of  their  faith.  In  practical  sympathies  they  are  eminently 
Christian.  It  is  not,  however,  as  a  religious  party  that  the  existence 
of  the  German  Catholics  is  important  under  any  aspect.  In  that 
character  the  sect  will  soon  die  out.  But  it  is  as  a  party  cherishing 
the  freest  principles,  as  a  combination  where  sympathies  may  be 
nursed  and  plans  formed,  affecting  the  political  future  of  Germany, 
that  it  is  worthy  of  attentive  consideration ; — and  it  is  as  such,  that 
I  shall  watch  with  deep  interest  its  future  operations 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

POLITICS. 

DECEMBER,  1850. 

I  HAVE  just  been  conversing  with  Mr. ,  one  of  the  leaders 

of  the  opposition  part}7,  and  a  gentleman  very  favorably  known  in 
the  political  circles  of  Berlin.  He  has  resided  some  time  in  Ame- 
rica, and  his  acquaintance  with  our  system  of  government,  and  with 
the  Constitutional  forms  in  England,  give  him  a  great  advantage  in 
the  debates  of  the  "  Chambers."  I  observe  that  he  is  frequently 
called  upon  in  doubtful  points  of  order  or  legislation.  He  tells  me 
that  he  has  great  hope  through  all  these  present  difficulties.  He 
thinks  the  nation  are  desirous  of  supporting  a  Constitutional  Govern- 
ment, and  that  they  only  at  present  need  experience.  The  great 
drawback,  he  and  eve-y  patriot  find  in  their  present  system,  is  in 
the  number  of  office-holders,  through  each  branch  of  the  Legislature. 
He  has  no  fear,  however,  that  this  will  not  be  remedied,  and  be- 
lieves in  a  few  years  that  this  Monarchy  will  take  the  position  of  a 
thorough  Constitutional  Monarchy. 

Still  there  is  quite  enough  in  the  present  condition  of  Prussia,  to 
make  any  reflecting  man  serious  about  its  future.  A  stormy  session 
of  the  "  Chambers"  has  just  been  ended  by  the  king's  summarily 
adjourning  them  till  the  middle  of  January.  It  was  a  short  ses- 
sion, but  it  was  long  enough  to  show  what  the  temper  of  the  couo- 


214  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


try  is,  towards  the  ministry ;  or,  in  other  words,  towards  the  policy 
of  the  king.  Bolder  words  have  not  been  spoken  in  any  represen- 
tative Assembly  of  Europe,  than  were  by  certain  members  of  these 
Prussian  Kammer.  They  have  denounced  this  whiffling,  vacillating 
policy,  which  is  endangering  the  honor  and  the  position  of  Prussia, 
as  an  independent  monarchy.  They  have  exposed  the  folly  of  a 
government  which  l>egan  with  such  mighty  preparations,  and  con- 
tented itself  with  such  mean  results.  They  remind  the  ministry,  that 
in  the  begim/mg  their  claims  upon  Austria  were  many,  and  such  as 
might  rouse  the  whole  nation  to  support  them  ;  that  they  then, 
demanded  that  no  troops  of  the  Bundestag  should  settle  the  inter- 
nal affairs  of  ilesse — a  country  in  which,  as  belonging  to  the  later 
German  Union,  Prussia  and  her  allies  alone  had  the  right  to  inter- 
fere ;  that  any  such  attempt  must  be  at  ouce  desisted  from,  as  being  an 
insult  to  Prussia  and  a  separation  of  the  two  parts  of  her  monarchy 
by  a  foreign  force ;  that  a  new  Union  should  be  formed,  where 
something  beside  Austria  and  Absolutism  should  have  a  voice ; 
that  Schleswig-Holstein  should  be  left  to  maintain  her  own  "  good 
right,"  or  that  the  dispute  should  be  so  settled  that  the  Duchies 
could  form  a  part  of  the  great  German  Union.  These  were  posi- 
tions which  the  Prussian  people  could  stand  by.  They  were  claims, 
to  urge  which,  200,000  men  had  left  their  business  and  their  homes, 
at  the  call  of  government,  with  an  alacrity  unknown  in  the  history 
of  military  recruiting. 

But  now,  after  all  this  brave  opening,  what  wa*  the  close  ?  A 
whole  people  had  been  aroused  to  arms  ;  the  most  magnificent  pre- 
parations known  in  modern  warfare  had  been  made ;  and  what, 
according  to  the  confession  of  the  ministry  themselves,  had  they 
gained,  or  supposed  they  had  gained  I  Simply  and  principally  the 
right  fo,  Prussia  to  occupy  the  military  roads  through  Hesse — a 


VINCKE'S    SPEECH  215 


right  which  had  never  been  decidedly  questioned,  and  which  was 
not  even  mentioned  in  the  early  period  of  the  dispute;  and 
secondly,  the  opportunity  of  holding  some  "  Conferences,"  between 
the  various  powers  of  Germany.  At  this  period  of  the  session  of 
the  Chambers,  the  results  of  the  agreement  entered  into  at  Olmiitz, 
between  the  Austrian  and  Prussian  Governments,  were  not  known  ; 
except  as  they  could  be  gathered  from  the  speeches  of  the  minis- 
ters ;  but  those  two  claims  mentioned  above,  were  supposed  to  be 
all  which  the  Prussian  diplomatists  had  succeeded  in  establishing. 
The  issue  shows  that  hardly  even  those  were  maintained. 

The  most  spirited  speech  of  the  session  was  made  by  Herr  Von 
Vincke — a  speech  which  in  skillful  management  of  arguments,  and 
in  ready,  lively  oratory,  has  very  few  superiors  in  parliamentary 
orations.  It  was  the  great  "  Constitution"  speech,  and  told  with 
wonderful  success.  A  more  complete,  thorough  expose  of  this 
changing  policy  of  the  ministry  could  not  have  been  made.  Man- 
teuffel,  the  Minister,  tried  to  reply,  but  it  was  manifest  he  had  a 
bad  cause  to  plead,  and  that  the  sympathies  of  the  Assembly  were 
decidedly  with  the  "  Left" — the  opposition — and  he  had  finally  to 
acknowledge  he  would  much  rather  be  where  "  Spitz-Kugelri'1 
(pointed  bullets)  than  where  "  Spitz-Reden"  (pointed  words)  were 
flying.  In  Von  Vincke's  speech,  and  in  all  the  others,  the  King's 
name  is  hardly  mentioned  ;  or,  if  he  is  spoken  of,  it  is  done  in  the 
most  respectful  manner.  Still  the  tendency  of  it  all,  was  evidently 
to  weaken,  in  the  most  dangerous  manner,  the  royal  authority. 
The  king  was  known  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  all  these  inconsistencies 
and  changes ;  and  every  sarcasm  and  every  bold  attack  was  really 
a  blow  at  him.  When  one  of  the  orators  closed  a  vivid  statement 
of  this  fickle,  dishonoring  policy,  with  the  words  "  Away  with  the 
ministry!"  it  must  have  been  felt  by  very  many,  that  these  strong 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


words  were  equally  true  against  the  head  of  the  ministry,  and  that, 
if  the  servants  disgraced  Prussia,  the  master  was  at  least  equally 
guilty. 

Without  doubt,  the  great  motive  of  this  attack  on  the  ministry  is 
not  a  desire  for  any  constitutional  improvements.  The  mass  of  the 
delegates  have  very  little  conception  what  a  genuine  constitutional 
government  is,  and  just  now  their  ideas  are  quite  in  another  direction. 
It  is  the  Prussian  pride  that  is  injured  by  this  assumption  of  an 
authority  iu  Cassel,  which  Prussia  had  claimed  alone.  That  the 
Bavarian — the  stupid,  heavy-headed,  beer-loving  Bavarian-— should 
be  giving  the  law  to  one  of  Prussia's  allies,  in  utter  contempt  of  her 
threats  !  This  is  what  galls  so  the  national  pride.  That  the  great 
antagonist  of  Prussia — the  rival  in  power,  and  the  representative  of 
a  different  religion  and  different  politics — should  be  usurping  a 
right  which  Prussia  had  claimed  and  had  not  been  able  to  main- 
tain !  It  is  this,  much  more  than  the  questions  of  freedom  involved 
in  the  contest,  which  has  aroused  so  thoroughly  the  popular  mind. 
Still,  all  the  best  and  noblest  spirits,  undoubtedly  always  under  the 
success  of  Prussia,  see  the  success  of  the  great  principles  of  freedom 
which  she  represents  in  Germany.  They  regard  any  concession  as 
a  concession  to  that  immense  absolute  Power  at  the  East,  whose 
influence  now  is  so  visibly  seen  in  the  affairs  of  Germany.  And  the 
humbling  of  their  country  is  the  humbling  of  the  last  defence  of 
constitutional  liberty  in  this  part  of  Europe.  As  one  of  the  Dele- 
gates said,  in  the  late  session,  "  the  Prussian  pride  rested  on  an 
unstained,  an  honorable  history ;  but  what  would  become  of 
national  honor,  if  an  ally  in  the  time  of  its  trouble,  in  an  attempt 
so  reasonable  and  so  constitutional  to  restore  its  rights,  were  left  to  be 
crushed  by  a  foreign  power  ?"  And,  whatever  may  be  true  of  the 
great  body  of  the  members,  I  have  certainly  been  struck  by  the 


TYRANNY !  217 


tone  prevailing  through  the  speeches  of  the  leaders  of  the  Opposi- 
tion— a  tone  of  recognition,  all  the  while,  that  the  great  idea  of  this 
struggle  is,  that  it  is  a  constitutional  struggle.  The  great  men, 
who,  throughout  Prussia,  through  the  press  and  in  the  chambers 
have  been  dealing  such  heavy  blows  against  the  ministry,  undoubt- 
edly believe,  that  they  strike  in  the  cause  of  constitutional  freedom 
The  multitude,  however,  want  War — war  against  their  overbearing 
enemies,  and  they  are  indignant  that  the  Ministry  have  so  disap- 
pointed them. 

In  the  mean  time,  everything  seems  to  go  on  gloomily  enough  for 
the  Constitutional  party.  Right  under  the  very  eyes  of  the  Repre- 
sentative Assembly,  with  the  law  fresh  on  their  statute  books  for 
the  liberty  of  the  press,  one  of  the  most  prominent  editors  of  Ber- 
lin is  banished  from  the  cjty,  without  an  hour's  notice,  or  the  form 
of  a  trial.  Nothing  has  happened  for  a  long  time,  that  shows  bet- 
ter how  few  Constitutional  rights  they  have  in  Prussia.  This  man 
was  not  an  agitator,  did  not  belong  to  a  party,  where  even  a  re- 
proach of  lawlessness  could  be  fastened.  His  paper — the  "  Consti- 
tutionelle  Zeitung1"1 — is  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  respectable 
journals  issued  in  Germany.  It  appears,  after  attacking  for  a  long 
time,  in  the  most  able  manner,  the  policy  of  the  ministry,  he  at 
length  wrote  an  article  against  the  king ;  hinting  particularly,  that 
the  king  was  playing  into  the  hands  of  Russia, — and  either  in  that 
article  or  one  soon  after,  comparing  his  course  to  that  of  one  of  the 
Stuarts,  and  warning  him  of  a  similar  end  to  his  family.  This  was 
not  done  as  plainly  as  I  have  put  it  here ;  still  it  was  very  bold, 
and  there  was  something  undoubtedly  in  the  last  comparison,  which 
was  peculiarly  offensive.  No  one  can  have  studied  the  character  of 
the  present  King  of  Prussia,  without  being  struck  by  its  great  re- 
semblance in  many  points,  to  that  of  James  II  of  England,  and  in 
10 


218  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


others,  to  traits  which  that  ill-fated  family  ever  displayed.  'Lhe 
same  lofty  ideas  of  kingly  prerogative  ;  the  same  remarkable  culti- 
vation as  an  individual,  with  James  II,  and  the  same  inefficiency  as 
king.  All  the  fickleness,  all  the  double-dealing,  and  all  the  tyranny 
which  ever  characterized  the  worst  of  that  house ;  and  which,  with 
him,  as  with  them  probably,  is  not  so  much  the  result  of  a  bad 
heart,  as  of  a  weak  head. 

It  was  this,  most  probably,  which  gave  the  peculiar  point  to  Dr. 
Heym's  attack.  The  king  had  the  opportunity  to  summon  him, 
according  to  the  fine-sounding  "  Pfess  Law,"  to  a  trial  for  libel. 
Or,  according  to  that  late  provision  which  the  ministry  made  them- 
selves, and  which  the  Chambers  have  hardly  thought  of  assailing, 
he  might  have  confiscated  the  paper,  and  the  sum  deposited  by  the 
editors*  But,  with  a  littleness  which  has  rarely  been  known  in 
kings,  he  personally  at  once  has  ordered  the  man  from  his  home 
into  a  disgraceful  banishment.  Frederick  the  Great,  used  to 
command  the  numerous  libels  put  up  in  the  streets  against  him  to 
be  pasted  lower  down,  so  that  every  body  could  read  them !  The 
contrast  in  his  descendant  is  striking  ! 

All  the  free  Journals  in  Germany  now  are  put  under  strict  cen- 
sorship. The  ministry  are  making  constant  use  of  the  ordinance 
before  alluded  to.  The  mode  in  which  this  Ordinance  was  passed, 
will  illustrate  the  present  condition  of  this  most  Constitutional  Mon- 
archy. 

In  June,  1850,  an  attempt  at  assassination  was  made  upon  the 
King,  by  a  discharged  soldier.  The  act  met  with  universal  indig- 
nation from  the  nation.  The  king,  however,  either  really  supposing 
it  revealed  the  wicked  passions  fermenting  among  the  people,  or 
using  this  as  a  good  pretext,  enacted  through  the  ministry  a  tempo- 
rary law  for  the  Press,  (June  5,  1850).  •  The  whole  proceeding  was 


PRESS-LAW.  219 


utterly  opposed  to  the  Constitution.  This  instrument  contained  a 
provision  in  ..regard  to  the  Press,  and  can  only  be  changed  by  a 
vote  of  the  Chambers.  The  law,  too,  thus  summarily  passed  by  the 
king,  was  of  a  most  oppressive  nature.  According  to  this,  every 
journal  issued  more  than  three  times  in  the  week,  must  deposit 
with  the  public  authorities,  a  sum  varying  from  1,000  to  5,000 
Thalers,  which  sum  is  forfeited  whenever,  in  the  view  of  the  judge, 
the  journal  has  endangered  the  public  security.  A  more  secure, 
quiet  repressal  of  the  liberty  of  the  press  cannot  be  imagined.  In 
addition  tfl  this,  the  law  enacts  that  transit  by  the  public  mails  shall 
be  forbidden  to  such  papers,  as  the  police  may  deem  expedient. 

As  was  well  said  by  one  of  the  members  in  the  Session  just  closed, 
"  the  ministry  might  with  equal  right,  without  trial  or  sentence,  for- 
bid the  transit  by  public  coaches  of  such  members  of  the  op'position, 
as  the  police  might  deem  expedient!" 

In  fact,  the  Government  is  everywhere  drawing  the  reins  tighter  ; 
and  when  in  addition  to  this,  it  is  mentioned,  that  in  Prussia,  the 
only  body  through  which  the  Constitutional  Party  could,  have  an 
influence,  is  suddenly  adjourned,  quite  probably  to  meet  for  a  longer 
adjournment,  and  that  the  absolute  parties  in  Austria  and  Prussia 
are,  without  doubt,  now  combining  to  carry  out  their  own  objects, 
we  may  well  say,  that  it  looks  gloomy  for  the  cause  of  liberty  in 
Germany. 

The  discontent  at  the  result  of  the  "  Olmutz  Conferences"  I  find 
very  great,  and  report  says,  the  Prince  of  Prussia — brother  of  the 
king  and  next  heir  to  the  throne — a  brave  soldier,  arbitrary  enough, 
but  true  as  steel  to  his  word  and  to  Prussia's  honor,  is  quite  as  much 
dissatis6ed  with  it  as  the  people.  I  was  conversing  recently  with 
an  army-officer,  who  told  me  that  when  the  news  of  those  stipula- 
tions reached  Berlin,  and  there  was  such  a  danger  of  a  revolution, 


220  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


he  "  could  not  have  fired  on  the  people,"  and  that  multitudes  in  the 
ranks  felt,  in  the  same  way. 

I  have  felt  sometimes,  in  these  old  States,  a  momentary  regret  in 
comparing  the  rawness  of  our  American  society,  our  superficial  cul- 
tivation, with  their  elegant  and  finished  culture.  But  the  moment 
I  have  turned  to ,  the  political  relations — to  the  complicated  diffi- 
culties and  long-standing  abuses — to  the  capricious  tyranny  of 
rulers,  and  the  astounding  ignorance  of  subjects  in  these  European 
governments,  I  have  felt  satisfied.  Learning  and  Refinement  can 
spring  up  even  in  the  wilderness ;  but  whether  Freedom  will  ever 
grow  where  Slavery  has  so  long  been,  seems  a  more  doubtful 
question. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CHRISTMAS. 

Mr  landlady  has  been  rushing  in  now  and  then  of  late  in  the 
mornings  in  an  excited  way.  "  Ach !  Herr  Brie — pardon  !  Herr 
Braez  !  are  you  not  getting  ready  for  the  Weihnachts-Fest  ?"  or, 
"  will  you  have  no  Fest  on  the  Weihnacht — you  must  join  in  ours  1 
But  I  know,  you  Americans  work  too  hard  for  such  things !" 

I  assure  her,  we  do  play  sometimes,  and  ask  her  how  she  means 
to  celebrate  it.  She  has  put  up  a  nice  large  Christmas  tree  in  the 
kitchen,  she  says,  and  the  children  are  cutting  out  gilt  spangles  and 
fastening  on  candles,  and  then  they  are  all  to  go  next  day  to  the 
Arabian  Circus.  I  see,  too,  that  the  husband  is  bringing  home  an 
armful  of  presents,  though  the  poor  man  is  hopelessly  in  debt,  and 
must  creep  in  and  out  in  the  stealthiest  way,  to  escape  the  needy- 
looking  men,  who  are  always  lying  in  wait  for  him,  with  "  ac- 
counts." 

There  is  a  shoemaker's  family,  too,  I  have  often  noticed,  in  the 
back  basement,  a  very  bright  industrious  set,  but  so  poor.  My 
landlady  says  the  man  only  earns  twelve  groschen  (30  cents,)  a  day, 
and  she  always  gives  them  what  there  is  left  of  her  own  dinners, 
but  "  the  children  look  very  hungry  some  days — die  armen  !  (the 
•0 


222  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


poor  things  !)  "  I  see,  however,  as  I  walk  by,  through  the  low  win- 
dow, a  green  Christinas  tree,  and  the  children  are  tying  on  the  bits 
of  candle.  One  gay  evening  in  the  dull  year,  at  least.  I  find  the 
•whole  city  alive  with  preparations.  Children  hurrying  about  in  the 
highest  state  of  excitement ;  handsome  carriages  rattling  from  one 
shop  to  another ;  gigantic  dolls  staring  you  in  the  face  everywhere, 
and  gorgeous  trees  of  wood  and  gilt  paper,  flaunting  at  every 
window. 

The  square  by  the  Sckloss,  (Castle,)  is  green  with  Christmas 
trees ;  and  behind  it  are  long  rows  of  booths,  each  one  filled  with 
all  imaginable  articles,  and  each  booth  with  its  price.  "Here,  eve- 
rything for  12 1  groschen,  (six  cents)  !"  "  Here  for  six  groschen !"  <fcc. 
The  pfe/er-kuchen — the  immemorial  cake  for  Christmas — are  sell- 
ing off  by  the  loads  ;  and  the  walls  are  all  covered  with  advertise- 
ments of  books,  songs,  exhibitions,  concerts,  dioramas,  circuses,  for 
Christmas. 

I  am  surprised  at  the  hold  the  festival  has  on  the  whole  popula- 
tion. There  are  not  a  dozen  families  so  poor,  as  not  to  have  their 
tree  and  pfeffer-kuchen  on  the  Weihnachts-eve. 

Even  the  preachers  have  alluded  to  it  now  for  some  weeks. 
Their  analogies  would  be  'childish  to  us,  but  are  evidently  all  real  to 
the  people.  I  went  last  Sunday  to  hear  £iichsel,  the  preacher, 
of  whom  I  have  before  spoken.  Almost  his  whole  subject  was  the 
Christmas  Festival. 

He  reminded  the  people  how  much  reason  there  -was  for  being 
happy  ;  that  for  a  time  now,  they  should  put  away  their  cares,  and 
think  of  the  great  Gift  of  which  this  "  Fest "  was  the  memorial. 
As  those  were  the  unhappy  children  who  have  no  home  and  no 
presents  on  this  joyful  evening,  so  were  the  men  pitiable,  who  had 
not  received  the  Greatest  of  presents  from  above.  And,  as.  the 


THE   TREE.  223 


child  who  is  unhappy  or  discontented,  while  receiving  on  these 
Christmas  days  so  many  marks  of  love  from  his  father,  is  most 
ungrateful,  so  are  they,  if  they  are  gloomy  now,  while  celebrating 
this  festival  in  memory  of  their  Father's  love. 


At  an  early  hour  in  the  evening,  I  was  at  the  house  of  a  friend, 
who  had  hospitably  invited  in  an  English  gentleman  and  myself,  to 
share  in  the  Christmas  festivities. 

We  were  at  once  shown  into  the  dining-room,  where  the  whole 
family  were  gathered,  the  children  in  an  excited  state  of  suspense  ; 
only  one  or  two  of  the  older  people  being  allowed  to  make  myste- 
rious visits  into  the  parlors,  where  the  presents  were  being  arranged. 
Of  course,  none  of  the  children  would.,  for  worlds,  have  broken  in 
before  the  appointed  signal  of  the  bell ;  but  they  were  continually 
making  little  incursions  to  the  key-hole  ;  and  the  grave  old  father 
was  kept  in  a  constant  frolic,  in  driving  back  these  attacks. 

The  excitement  was  raised  to  fever-heat  when  a  large  Christmas- 
box  came  suddenly  in  from  a  married  daughter  at  a  distance, 
packed  full  of  unknown  treasures.  These  were,  all  carried  into  the 
parlors  ;  and  after  a  little  longer  waiting,  the  bell  rung,  the  doors 
were  thrown  open,  and  we  all  rushed  in  a  promiscuous  throng  into 
the  bright  rooms.  In  the  centre  stood  the  large  Christmas  tree,  all 
blazing  with  lights,  and  gilt,  and  tinsel ;  the  presents  hung  upon 
it.  We  stopped  to  admire  it,  and  especially  the  pretty  little  orato- 
rio made  of  pasteboard,  with  wax  candles,  where  were  the  mother's 
presents ;  next  to  hers  came  the  father's,  and  then  the  sons'  and  the 
daughters',  and  so  on. 

Great  were  the  huntings  at  once,  each  for  his  own.  The  mother 
had  a  surprise  for  the  father,  and  the  father  for  the  rrnther,  and  the 


224  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY 


children  for  both,  and  even  the  little  youngest,  who  was  altogether 
overwhelmed  by  the  outcries  at  first,  became  quite  consoled  when 
she  found  the  stores  of  enormous  dolls  and  unnameable  animate, 
which  were  her  part.  The  strangers  were  not  forgotten,  and  we 
each  found  a  pleasant  memorial,  with  a  spicy  little  epigram  attached. 
As  a  traveler,  I  received  with  some  books,  a  box  of  Berlin  sand  as 
a  specimen  of  the  place,  and  with  a  delicate  allusion,  that  I 
would  have  it  occasionally  "  thrown  in  my  eyes,"  in  some  of  my  in- 
vestigations. 

The  verses  on  each  set  of  presents,  as  they  were  read  off,  were 
received  with  shouts  of  laughter  ;  and  when  the  father,  a  clergyman, 
found  a  nice  cigar  case,  with  a  bit  of  witty-poetry,  there  was  a  gen- 
eral clapping.  After  this,  there  were  games  and  various  quiet 
amusements,  until  at  length  in  the  middle  of  the  evening,  the  mo- 
ther said,  "  We  will  have  our  Christmas  hymn,  now  !  "  So  she  sat 
down  to  the- piano,  and  all  the  little  ones  were  made  quiet,  and  the 
whole  family  sung  one  of  those  sweetest  of  old  German  hymns, 
speaking  of  His  patient  goodness — of  their  own  un worthiness,  and 
the  gratitude  which  they  all  for  ever  will  owe  to  Him. 

I  was  rather  surprised  at  the  half-solemnity  of  the  evening — the 
almost  subdued  happiness,  and  I  asked  them,  whether  they  would 
ever  dance  on  such  an  evening  ?  "  Oh  no  ! "  they  said,  "  scarcely 
any  family  would." 

I  left  in  the  middle  of  the  merrymaking,  as  I  had  been  invited  to 
another  friend's,  whose  family  I  much  wished  to  see.« 

The  night  was  cold  and  blustering,  so  that  the  contrast  was  very 
pleasant  as  I  stepped  again  into  a  warm,  cheerful  room,  with  tree 
and  candles  and  presents,  and  met  the  hearty  greeting.  There  is 
something  about  this  German  Festival,  which  one  would  seldom  see 
in  our  home  enjoyments.  People  do  not  seem  to  be  enjoying  them 


CONTRAST  TO  AMERICA.  225 


selves,  because  it  is  a  "  duty  to  be  cheerful ; "  and  because  a  family- 
gathering  is  a  very  beautiful  and  desirable  thing.  They  are  cheer- 
ful, because  they  cannot  help  it,  and  because  they  all  love  one 
another. 

The  expression  of  trustfulness  through  the  children  of  these  fam- 
ilies ;  the  open  and  unconscious  affection  shown  by  them  all,  was 
very  beautiful  to  see.  They  were  all  so  happy,  because  they  had 
been  making  one  another  happy. 

As  I  recall  our  hollow  home-life  in  many  parts  of  America — the 
selfishness  and  coldness  in  families — the  little  hold  HOME  has  on 
any  one,  and  the  tendency  of  children  to  get  rid  of  it  as  early  as 
possible,  I  am  conscious  how  much  after  all  we  have  to  learn  from 
these  easy  Germans. 

There  is  a  compensation,  to  be  sure,  in  all  these  matters — our 
faults  connect  themselves  with  our  strength — and  a  boy  is  an  inde- 
pendent, self-reliant  man  with  us,  when  he  is  in  leading-strings  in 
Germany.  But  there  is  growing  up  in  our  cities,  a  hankering  after 
exciting  pleasures,  an  aversion  to  the  simple  and  pure  enjoyments 
of  home  among  the  young,  which  forbodes  badly  for  our  family- 
life. 

Materialism — the  passion  for  money-making,  and  excitement,  is 
eating  up  the  heart  of  our  people.  We  are  not  a  happy  people ; 
our  families  are  not  happy.  Men  look  haggard  and  anxious  and 
weary.  We  want  something  more  genial  and  social  and  unselfish 
amongst  us.  A  piety  which  prompts  to  petty  self-sacrifices,  and 
takes  a  pleasure  in  them,  as  well  as  in  great.  Any  family-festivals 
of  this  kind ;  anything  which  will  make  home  pleasanter,  which 
will  bind  children  together,  and  make  them  conscious  of  a  distinct 
family-life,  is  most  strongly  needed.  Good  people  are  to  recognize 
that  there  is  a  religion  in  Christmas  feasts,  as  well  as  in  prayer- 
10* 


226  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


meetings ;  that  a  father  who  has  made  his  home  gloomy,  has  done 
quite  as  great  a  wrong  to  his  children,  perhaps,  as  he  who  made  it 
irreligious.  We  want  these  German  habits — these  birth-day  and 
Christmas  festivals — this  genial  family-life,  without  the  German 


In  my  friend's  family  here,  there  were  the  same  genial  enjoyments, 
as  in  the  other — perhaps  even  more  subdued.  I  found  myself  again 
remembered  kindly,  with  Christmas-tokens,  so  that  I  quite  forgot 
the  old  family  circle  over  the  waters,  which  used  to  have  its  cheery 
gathering  this  evening — now  wide  scattered  and  broken. 

At  the  close,  my  friend  read  some  touching,  beautiful  letters  from 
Luther  to  his  boy,  which  fastened  the  children's  attention  quite  as 
much  as  they  did  mine. 

After  this,  came  the  merry  Christmas  Eve  supper,  with  the  an- 
cient Berlin  dish  for  the  occasion,  carps  slewed  in  beer,  followed  by 
the  Christmas-cake,  pfefferkuchen,  which  to  the  unitiated  may  be 
described  as  a  mild  form  of  ginger-bread,  sweetened  with  honey. 

Then  at  a  late  hour,  hearty  shakes  of  the  hand,  "  Viel  Gluck  !  " 
and  many  good  wishes  for  the  future,  and  my  first  Christmas  Eve 
«n  the  German  Fatherland  was  over. 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 

THE    GERMAN    UNION. 

THUS  far  in  my  travels  through  Germany,  the  question  has  con- 
stantly arisen  to  my  mind,  "  WTiat  is  this  German  Union,  about 
which  I  hear  so  many  and  such  ardent  thoughts  ? "  What  has  it 
been  in  former  times  ?  Was  there  ever  a  "  United  Germany,"  and  is 
it  probable  that  there  ever  will  be  ? 

I  must  confess  to  a  very  vague  and  indefinite  knowledge  pre- 
viously, as  to  the  answers  for  all  these  queries ;  and  not  improbably, 
I  shall  have  many  companions,  even  among  historical  scholars,  in 
iny  difficulty.  We  all  know,  either  from  German  literature,  or 
from  European  Journals,  of  this  intense  and  almost  poetic  desire 
through  the  German  race  for  "  Unity ; "  we  know  also,  that  there  is 
a  Confederated  whole,  called  Germany ;  but  what  the  nature  of  this 
Confederacy  is ;  on  what  pact  it  rests ;  what  basis  this  desire  of 
Union  has  had  in  past  history,  or  what  probabilities  there  are  of  its 
realization  in  the  present  time,  or  what  are  the  causes  of  the 
strangely  high-wrought  German  feeling  on  the  matter,  probably  but 
few-  even  among  intelligent  men  can  explain. 

In  investigating  this  subject,  I  must  forewarn  the  reader  of  some 
very  dry  chapters.  Still,  the  facts  to  be  given  are  indispensable  to 


223  SOCIAL   LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


a  correct  understanding  of  Germany,  and  the  movements  even  now 
at  work  within  it. 


The  Germanic  Empire  of  history — the  basis  of  the  present  Con- 
federacy—dissolved through  the  influence  of  Napoleon  in  1806, 
may  date  its  origin  from  the  year  962,  when  Otho  the  Great,  King 
of  Germany,  gained,  by  the  conquest  of  Italy,  the  title  of  Emperor. 
The  kingdom  thus  elevated  into  an  Empire,  was  made  up  of  6ve 
different  nations,  each  governed  by  its  own  prince,  and  all  united 
under  one  elected  monarch.  Its  limits,  especially  on  the  east,  were 
by  no  means  those  of  modern  Germany ;  still,  in  the  main,  they 
were  determined  by  German  Nationality,  and  the  provinces  and 
kingdoms  lying  beyond  the  territory  of  the  original  tribes,  though 
belonging  to  the  empire,  were  not  represented  in  the  Diet  of  the 
German  States.  The  development  of  the  empire,  from  this  time, 
gradually  into  the  Confederacy,  which  ensued,  is  very  curious,  and 
altogether  different  from  the  political  changes  in  any  other  country 
of  Europe. 

In  France,  and  through  all  the  feudal  kingdoms,  the  different 
provinces  or  duchies  were  bestowed  by  the  King  on  his  favorite 
vassals  as  temporary  governments,  finally  reverting  to  the  Crown  as 
fiefs,  the  result  being,  that  each  kingdom  became  at  length  a  com- 
pact whole  and  the  king  absolute  ruler.  In  Germany,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  was  a  principle  of  law  from  the  first,  that«the  Emperor 
should  unite  no  fief  to  his  own  property,  nor  hold  one  which  he 
had  possessed  before  his  election  or  accession.  The  effect  of  this 
regulation  and  of  other  causes  was,  that  gradually  each  of  the 
Dukes  or  Electors  became  independent  of  the  Crown ;  and  the 
German  Empire,  in  place  of  being  one  State  under  the  command 


THE   EMPIRE.  229 

of  a  single  head,  resolved  itself  into  a  Confederation  of  States,  yield- 
ing a  nominal  obedience  to  their  elected  ruler  and  diet,  but  each,  in 
fact,  independent  and  self-governing.  This  result  was  not  obtained 
without  difficulty.  From  the  crowning  of  Otho  to  the  peace  of 
Westphalia,  the  history  of  the  German  Empire  presents  nothing 
but  a  scene  of  unintermitting  discord  and  quarreling.  The  Emperor 
oppressing  the  Electors,  and  the  Electors  encroaching  on  the  impe- 
rial right;  the  princes  carrying  on  war  against  one  another,  and 
against  the  cities ;  the  cities  forming  unions  against  the  princes ; 
and  the  knights  combining  against  them  all.  In  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, Henry  III  succeeds  for  a  short  time  in  exercising  almost  abso- 
lute power ;  but  his  posterity  is  soon  dispossessed ;  and  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  says  Hallam,  "  The  place  was  now  become  a 
mockery  of  greatness.  For  more  than  two  centuries,  no  withstand- 
ing the  temporary  influence  of  Frederick  Barbarossa  and  his  son, 
the  imperial  authority  had  been  in  a  state  of  gradual  decay.  From 
the  time  of  Frederick  II,  it  had  bordered  on  absolute  insignificance ; 
and  the  more  prudent  princes  were  slow  to  canvass  for  a  dignity  so 
little  accompanied  by  respect." 

In  1220  and  1232  the  territorial  independence  of  the  princes 
was  first  legally  acknowledged  by  the  Emperor,  by  two  decrees,  in 
which  he  engages  "  Neither  to  levy  the  customary  imperial  dues, 
nor  to  permit  the  jurisdiction  of  the  palatine  judges  within  the 
limits  of  a  State  of  the  Empire."* 

During  all  this  period,  up  to  the  peace  of  Westphalia  in  1648, 
Germany,  though  nominally  an  Empire,  was  scarcely,  on  one  occa- 
sion, able  to  exert  any  combined  power  on  the  rest  of  Europe. 

There  was  no  national  army  of  any  account ;  no  metropolis  ;  no 
representative  of  the  government,  except  an  impoverished  Emperor ; 
*  Hallam 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


no  union  between  the  separate  provinces  ;  no  court  to  decide  upon 
their  differences,  or  permanent  Congress  to  give  them  all  a  com- 
bined influence.  Germany  was  neither  a  powerful  Confederacy  of 
States,  nor  an  absolute  monarchy.  Its  strength  was  spent  in  inter- 
nal dissensions.  Besides  the  existing  wide  divisions  into  dutchies 
and  archbishoprics — each  almost  an  independent  state — the  Empire, 
as  if  to  make  more  absurd  the  claim  to  a  German  Union,  was  split 
up  at  different  times  into  various  internal  Unions,  each  a  rival  to 
the  other.  There  was  the  Hanseatic  Union  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, or  Union  of  the  free  cities  ;  the  Electoral  Union  ;  the  Rhenish 
Alliance ;  the  Union  of  the  Knights ;  some  of  the  leagues  being 
expressly  formed  to  oppose  the  action  of  the  Imperial  Government. 

As  the  last  source  of  complete  separation  of  the  different  parts, 
•was  the  spread  of  the  Protestant  Reformation  ;  and,  before  the  close 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  distinction  between  the  Protestant 
and  Catholic  States  of  Germany,  grew  to  be  as  great  as  that  be- 
tween the  different  nations  of  Europe. 

The  old  Constitution  of  the  German  Empire,  though  giving,  as  wo 
see,  no  efficiency  for  foreign  action,  was  somewhat  more  useful  for 
internal  administration  ;  and,  even  if  the  Diet  could  not  unite  the 
whole  confederacy  for  an  effort  against  strangers,  we  must  allow  that 
it  could  at  least  sometimes  protect  a  weaker  member  of  its  own 
body  against  a  strong.  However,  it  needed  five  centuries,  before 
even  a  Federal  Court  could  be  formed  to  settle  the  national  differ- 
ences, or  an  Executive  established  to  carry  out  the  decisions. 

The  first  great  exposition  of  the  German  Constitution  is  in  the 
Treaty  of  Westphalia,  1648  ;  and  on  this  as  a  basis,  have  rested  the 
internal  relations  of  the  Empire,  up  to  the  time  of  its  dissolution. 
Through  the  whole  treaty,  the  different  provinces  of  Germany  are 
recognized  not  as  members  of  an  undivided  kingdom,  but  as  sepa- 


TREATY    OF    1648.  231 


rate  states.  Each  of  the  princes  is  established  "  in  his  entire  right 
of  sovereignty  over  his  own  territory,  in  the  power  of  making  war, 
concluding  peace,  and  forming  alliances,"  whether  with  the  other 
princes  or  with  foreign  states  ;  the  only  stipulation  being  that  "  such 
alliance  shall  not  be  to  the  injury  of  the  Empire."  The  central 
power  is  stripped  of  almost  all  prerogatives  of  control  over  the  indi- 
vidual states  ;  and  the  different  parts  are  settled  in  their  relations 
to  each  other,  much  as  if  they  were  hostile  countries. 

So  little  is  there  of  the  constitution  of  a  confederacy  in  this  docu- 
ment, and  so  much  of  a  treaty  regulating  the  rights  of  conflicting 
states,  that  the  principles  settled  here,  have  formed  the  basis  of  the 
European  code  of  international  law,  since. 

There  is  no  appearance,  certainly,  thus  far,  of  "  German  Union" 
in  the  constitution  of  Germany.  Nor  did  this  treaty-'tend  to  pro- 
mote it.  The  weak,  it  is  true,  were  better  protected  by  its  stipula- 
tions, against  the  strong;  but  the  forces  of  the  Empire  were  just  as 
useless  for  any  foreign  object  as  before.  Various  causes  also  tended 
now  to  sink  slill  more  the  dignity  of  the  Central  Power. 

By  various  means,  and  through  the  strangest  reverses,  always 
rising  strongest  after  defeat,  gaining  alike  from  marriage  and 
alliance  and  even  reverse,  by  robbery,  and  by  purchase,  by  accident 
and  by  scheming,  the  House  of  Austria  was  building  itself  up  an 
Empire,  which  would  surpass  even  the  ancient  empire  of  the  Czars, 
and  under  whose  brilliancy  the  name  of  the  German  Empire  would 
quite  be  lost. 

The  King  of  Austria  was,  indeed,  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  but 
all  the  forces  which  he  could  lead'  in  his  imperial  capacity,  were  not 
a  third  as  numerous  as  the  standing  army  of  his  own  kingdom  ;  an<l 
those  could  only  be  collected  under  the  greatest  difficulty  and  oppo- 


SOCIAL    LIFE   IN  GERMANY. 


sition.  The  great  power  of  Central  Europe  became  Austria  and  not 
Germany. 

A  century  later,  also,  another  state  suddenly  rose  in  Germany, 
by  a  series  of  successes  even  mqre  wonderful,  and  by  acts  of  fraud 
and  injustice,  even  more  base — Prussia.  It  is  not  my  purpose  here 
to  trace  the  growth  of  this  petty  Dukedom  into  one  of  the  first 
European  kingdoms.  It  is  sufficient  here  to  observe,  that  the  suc- 
cessful position  of  Prussia  in  the  eighteenth  century  as  the  Protes- 
tant rival  of  Austria,  destroyed  the  last  semblance  of  unity  to  the 
German  Empire.  Germany  was  lost  out  of  view,  as  a  separate  state, 
and  Austria  and  Prussia  appear  henceforth  on  the  field  of  European 
politics.  The  German  States  were  still  nominally  provinces  of  an 
empire,  but  were,  in  fact,  independent  powers,  holding  a  loose  con- 
federacy for  the  maintenance  of  internal  peace,  and  clustering  around 
the  two  great  Kingdoms,  who  were  for  the  future  to  dispute  the 
power  and  the  territory  of  Central  Europe.  The  last  blow  to  the 
falling  empire  was  struck  in  1806,  when  fifteen  of  the  German 
States  separated  themselves  from  the  Imperial  Alliance,  and  formed 
the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  under  the  protectorship  of  Napo- 
leon. Thus  was  the  old  Empire  of  Charlemagne,  after  a  nominal 
existence  of  more  than  a  thousand  years,  in  fact,  dissolved  ;  and,  in 
the  same  year,  Francis  II  completed  the  legal  act  of  dissolution,  by 
relinquishing  the  crown  of  the  Empire,  and  declaring  himself  simply, 
henceforth,  Emperor  of  Austria. 

The  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  supported  alone 'by  the  power 
of  Napoleon,  fell  with  his  falling  fortunes;  and  in  1814-15,  the 
German  States,  with  their  European  allies,  met  at  Vienna,  to  recon- 
struct Germany,  and  to  give  it  a  constitution,  which  should  in  some 
degree  remedy  the  evils  of  the  past,  and  answer  the  enthusiastic 
wishes  of  the  People. 


CONGRESS    OF    VIEiSNA. 


To  the  Constitution  here  given,  after  many  changes  and  some  al- 
most magnificent  experiments,  has  Germany  again  returned ;  and  he 
who  would  understand  the  present  position  of  the  German  States, 
will  perhaps  find  it  worth  his  labor  to  accompany  us  in  a  brief  sur- 
vey of  the  provisions  of  that  Instrument,  and  of  the  changes  wrought 
upon  it,  in  the  few  succeeding  years. 

The  first  gathering  of  the  Deputies  to  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
in  November  of  1814,  was  amid  the  almost  boundless  hope 
and  enthusiasm  of  the  whole  German  race.  A  mighty  effort 
had  just  been  made  to  cast  off  foreign  oppression.  The  people 
had  risen  to  the  aid  of  their  princes,  with  an  exalted  heroism 
and  a  self-sacrifice,  such  as  has  not  been  seen  in  the  popular 
movements  of  modern  days.  Something  of  the  solemnity,  and 
of  the  inspiration  of  those  stupendous  events,  which  had  deliv- 
ered Germany  from  the  power  of  Napoleon,  still  rested  on  the  na- 
tion and  its  rulers.  The  first  proclamations  of  the  sovereigns  have 
almost  a  religious  tone.  And  in  the  preceding  year,  at  Kalisch, 
they  had  called  upon  the  German  people  to  "  struggle  with  them, 
with  heart  and  mind,  with  good  and  blood,  with  body  and  life  for 
the  return  of  Freedom  and  Independence  to  Germany,  and  for  the 
restoration  of  a  worthy  kingdom  in  suitable  form,  as  may  please  the 
peoples  and  kings  of  Germany,  and  such  as,  in  its  traits  and  outlines, 
may  spring  from  the  original  spirit  of  the  German  race ;  so  that 
Germany,  renewed  in  youth,  vigorous  and  united,  may  take  a  posi- 
tion among  the  peoples  of  Europe." 

"  For  this  object,"  too,  said  Prince  Metternich  to  this  Congress, 
"  have  the  people  seized  arms ;  and  all  the  States  who  have  joined 
themselves  to  the  great  alliance,  have  declared  themselves  at  their 
entrance,  for  the  same  end." 

Already  previously,  (May,  1814)  also  in  Paris,  the  allied  sove- 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


reigns  had  declared,  that  "  the  States  of  Germany  shall  be  indepen- 
dent, and  united  by  a  Federal  tie." 

Everything  seemed  to  promise  that  Germany  would  at  length  be 
established,  as  her  patriots  had  so  long  and  ardently  desired — as  a 
vigorous  Federal  State,  governed  by  a  Parliament,  at  once  represent- 
ing people  and  princes,  able  to  act  with  power  in  foreign  relations, 
yet  made  up  of  independent  States,  each  possessing  its  own  popular 
constitution.  Unity  of  Germany  and  provincial  constitutions,  were 
the  objects,  everywhere,  before  the  hopes  of  the  people — to  which 
many  added  a  Federal  Court,  empowered  to  decidB  upon  differences 
between  the  States.  How  these  expectations  were  realized  will  ba 
hereafter  seen. 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

THE    GERMAN    CONFEDERACT. 

THE  first  year  of  the  Vienna  Congress  passed  away  with  scarcely 
one  tangible  result.  The  old  spirit  of  Austrian  diplomacy  seemed 
to  have  settled  down  on  the  members  ;  and  amid  the  universal  stretch 
of  excitement  among  the  people,  incredible  time  and  breath  were 
wasted  in  the  most  superficial  matters  of  ceremony ;  and  wordy 
plans  succeeded  plan,  until  there  seemed  no  end  to  the  discussions. 
The  sudden  return  of  Napoleon  from  Elba,  at  length  aroused  the 
Deputies  to  the  times  in  which  they  were  living;  and  with  a  mar 
vellons  despatch,  the  document  was  prepared  which  was  to  be  the 
ground-work  of  the  Constitution  of  Germany.  The  essential  arti- 
cles, ctnoerning  the  internal  government  of  Germany,  were  as 
follows : — 

(Art.  2.)  The  object  of  the  German  Confederacy  is  the  maintenance  of  the 
internal  and  external  security  of  Germany,  togther  with  the  independence  and 
inviolability  of  the  confederated  States. 

(Art.  3.)  All  the  members  of  the  Confederacy  have,  as  such,  equal  and 
uniform  rights. 

(Art.  4,  5,  7  and  9.)  The  general  interests  of  the  body  shall  be  discussed 
and  arranged  at  a  Diet,  in  which  each  member  shall  have  a  vote,  (either  a 
single  vote  or  a  share  in  a  collected  vote).  This  Diet  is  appointed  to  sit  at 
F-ankfort-on-the-Maine.  It  is  perpetual,  and  the  perio-1  of  its  adjournment 


236  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY 


must  not  extend  beyond  four  months,  at  the  most.  Austria  is  to  hold  its 
presidency. 

(Art.  10.)  The  first  business  of  the  Diet,  after  its  opening,  will  be  the  set- 
tlement of  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  Confederacy,  and  its  organic  relations, 
in  connection  with  its  internal,  external,  and  military  relations. 

(Art.  11.)  All  the  members  of  the  Confederacy  promise  to  unite  together 
against  any  and  every  attack,  and  when  a  war  takes  place,  they  pledge  them- 
selves not  to  enter  upon  any  secret  compact,  nor  conclude  any  partial  armi- 
stice or  peace  with  the  enemy.  Meantime,  they  reserve  to  themselves  the 
right  of  forming  alliances  of  every  kind,  but  they  bind  themselves  down  not 
to  conclude  any  si  ch  alliance,  which  may  injuriously  affect  the  welfare  and 
security  of  the  country,  or  be  opposed  to  the  interests  of  any  one  individual 
member.  At  the  same  time,  the  members  shall  not  be  allowed  under  any 
pretext  whatever,  to  carry  on  a  war  against  each  other,  but  shall  lay  all 
matters  of  dispute  before  the  Diet,  which  shall  either  mediate  or  adjudge, 
and  to  the  decisions  of  which  the  parties  must  submit. 

Article  13. —  In  all  the  States  of  the  Confederation,  there  shall  be  a  government 
by  Constitutional  Chambers  (landst"ndische  Verfassung.) 

Articles  18  and  19. — The  subjects  of  the  German  princes  shall  have  the 
right  to  pass  from  one  state  into  another  and  to  accept  of  either  civil  or  mil- 
itary offices  therein,  if  no  military  engagement  already  binds  them  to  their 
native  place.  The  Diet  shall  occupy  itself  with  the  formation  of  laws  for 
the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  against  piracy,  as  well  as  for  the  commercial 
and  trading  intercourse,  between  the  states  of  the  Confederation. 

Besides  these  provisions,  there  were  stipulations  with  regard  to  the 
religious  rights  of  the  various  sects  ;  and  others  regulating  the  mil- 
itary contingent  for  each  member  of  the  Confederacy.  The  army 
was  to  consist  of  300,000  men,  to  which  Austria  contributes  94,000  ; 
Prussia,  79,000;  Bavaria,  35,000;  Wiirtemberg,  13,600;  Hano- 
ver, 13,000;  Saxony,  12,000;  Baden,  10,000;  and  the  other  mem- 
bers in  proportion.  The  commander-in-chief  for  the  whole  army,  is 
appointed  by  the  Diet,  to  whom  he  renders  the  oath  of  duty  and 
service,  and  from  whom  he  receives  orders  and  authority. 


RESULTS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  23P7 


Such  was  the  gift  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna  to  the  German  peo- 
ple, in  return  for  their  heroic  efforts  and  sufferings. 

Even  the  ambassadors*  of  some  of  the  monarchical  powers  of 
Germany  had  expressed  the  desire  before  the  meeting  of  the  Assem- 
bly, that  the  future  constitution  should  contain  at  least  provisions 
for  a  Federal  Court  to  decide  between  subjects  and  the  rulers ;  that 
provincial  representative  constitutions  should  be  guaranteed  by  the 
Confederacy,  and  a  popular  representation  have  a  share  in  the  Diet. 
None  of  these  were  given.  There  is  no  approach  made  to  the 
Unity  of  the  People.  No  Federal  Court  is  established  ;  no  execu- 
tive department ;  no  representation  abroad  ;  no  common  code  of 
law.  Neither  people,  nor  provincial  legislatures  have  any  share  in 
the  government  of  Germany.  And  so  little  weight  had  the  llth 
article,  even  at  the  time,  enjoining  that  "  no  member  of  the  Con- 
federacy should  conclude  a  partial  armistice  or  peace  with  the  enemy," 
that  at  the  second  Peace  of  Paris,  Austria  and  Prussia  alone  of  the 
Confederacy,  were  parties  in  the  treaty,  which  was  to  settle  the 
affairs  of  Germany.  In  truth,  it  was  not  a  unity  of  Germany  which 
was  gained,  but  a  unity  of  her  princes. 

Neither  do  popular  lights  fare  better.  Liberty  of  the  press,  pub- 
licity of  trials,  and  trial  by  jury — so  long  demanded — are  nowhere 
bestowed.  Popular  representation  in  the  legislatures,  is  not  se- 
cured ;  and  the  provincial  constitutions  are  not  protected.  The 
only  answer  to  the  universal  cry  of  the  nation  for  a  constitution,  is 
answered  by  the  enigmatical  words  of  Art.  13.  "  Landstandische 
Verfassung"  skillfully  contrived  to  mean  a  constitutional  govern- 
ment, based  either  on  popular  representation,  or  on  assemblies  ap- 

*  Von  Stein,  Humboldt,  and  others.  (Stein's  Leben.  Entwurf  der  Deuts- 
chen  Verfassung.  Die  Gegenwart,  1848.  12th  Heft.  Wirth's  Geschichte  der 
Deutschen  Staaten,  vol.  1.) 


238  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


pointed  by  the  Government.  Pure  monarchical  rule  is  the  princi- 
ple recognized  throughout.  Constitutional  Government  is  the  excep- 
tion. 

The  result,  in  facl,  of  this  long  hoped-for  Congress,  was  not  to 
make  Germany  more  united,  or  more  free,  but  to  throw  more 
power  into  the  hands  of  Austria  and  Prussia ;  and  to  strengthen 
the  rule  of  the  princes  over  the  people. 

It  will  be  seen,  as  we  go  on,  that  the  progress  of  events  from  1815 
to  our  day,  has  only  confirmed  these  tendencies ;  that  more  and 
more  the  German  Confederacy  has  been  changing  into  a  Confede- 
racy of  princes,  and  the  Diet  of  the  League,  yielding  itself  up  into 
the  hands  of  Austria  as  an  instrument  of  absolute  power,  until  the 
sudden  and  terrific  outburst  of  popular  passion  in  1848,  has  scat- 
tered the  whole  structure  to  the  winds.  That  the  new  Govern- 
ment raised  by  the  people  has  proved  as  unsatisfactory  as  the 
old,  and  that  this  year,  (1851)  has  witnessed  a  return  to  the 
princelv  Confederacy  of  '15,  more  unconditional  and  more  absolute 
than  ever  before,  and  to  a  prostration  and  oppression  of  the  people 
more  hopeless  and  more  complete  than  in  the  worst  days  of  the 
Past. 


The  acts-  of  the  Vienna  Congress,  naturally  aroused  a  universal 
discontent  among  the  free  spirits  of  Germany ;  which  showed  itself 
during  the  next  four  years,  in  very  manifest  forms.-.  The  students 
and  young  men  especially,  felt  the  disappointment,  and  vented  their 
feelings,  sometimes  a  little  extravagantly.  The  governments  pro- 
fessed to  be  alarmed.  And  at  length,  when  in  the  increase  of  the 
excitement,  KOTZEBUE  was  murdered  by  a  crazed  young  man,  a 
student  and  a  member  also  of  some  of  the  secret  clubs,  they  sounded 


NEW    TYRANNIES.  239 

the  alarm  of  a  universal  conspiracy  for  murder  and  revolution  among 
the  German  youth.  A  more  unfortunate  act  for  German  liberty 
never  occurred,  than  this  maniac-blow  of  the  oyer-wrought  student. 
It  gave  to  the  princes  the  pretext,  so  much  desired  and  so  influen- 
tial upon  the  whole  conservative  party  of  Germany,  for  passing 
stricter  measures.  The  Conferences  at  Karlsbad  were  the  result, 
and  in  Sept.  1819,  a  new  set  of  ordinances  still  more  thoroughly 
enslaving  the  nation. 

These  were  directed  especially  to  limiting  the  freedom  of  the 
press  and  to  strengthening  the  central  power  of  the  Diet.  A  com- 
mission was  appointed  to  watch  over  the  execution  of  the  decrees  of 
the  National  Assembly.  Another  to  investigate  all  revolutionary 
movements,  with  powers  to  arrest  any  suspicious  or  dangerous  indi- 
viduals, and  to  control  any  local  authorities.  Officers,  too,  are 
chosen  to  watch  over  the  universities,  and  report  the  names  of  those 
professors  whose  instructions  are  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  these  Con- 
ferences. A.  professor  displaced  on  this  ground  can  enter  no  other 
university  in  any  State  of  the  Confederacy. 

No  writing,  it  is  also  provided,  under  twenty  pages,  can  be  printed 
without  the  consent  of  the  State  authorities ;  and  any  State,  where 
such  writings  are  issued,  dangerous  to  the  public  welfare,  will  be  held 
responsible  to  the  Diet. 

The  Diet,  too,  shall  have  the  right,  at  pleasure,  of  suppressing 
any  such  printed  writings  in  any  State  of  the  Confederacy. 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  decrees  throw  a  very  great  power  over 
the  individual  States  into  the  hands  of  the  princes,  and  almost  com- 
pletely muzzle  the  popular  press.  The  despotism  was  completed  by 
the  "  Closing  acts  of  the  Vienna  Congress"  the  next  year — (June 
1820).  Among  these,  we  only  quote  the  following  : 

(Art.  57.)   As  the  German  Confederacy,  with  the  exception  of  the  free 


240  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


citiei,  is  composed  of  sovereign  princes,  so  must  in  consequence  of  this  funda- 
mental idea,  the  collected  power  of  the  State  remain  united  in  the  ruler  of 
the  Slate ;  and  the  sovereign,  by  the  Constitution,  can  be  bound  to  co- 
operate with  the  Chambers,  only  in  the  practice  of  definite  rights. 

(Art.  58.)  The  sovereign  princes  united  in  the  Confederacy,  shall  be 
hindered  or  limited  in  their  federal  obligations,  by  no  provincial  Constitu- 
tion. 

Article  sixty-one  forbids  interference  by  the  Confederacy  in  the 
contests  between  rulers  and  the  chambers,  unless  through  the  resist- 
ance of  the  subjects  to  the  authorities,  the  internal  tranquillity  be 
disturbed  ;  or  unless  the  government,  after  the  use  of  all  lawful  and 
constitutional  means,  appeals  to  the  assistance  of  the  Confederacy. 

Thus  was  Metternich's  policy  triumphant.  The  ruling  power  is 
declared  to  be  vested  alone  in  the  princes.  The  provincial  legisla- 
tures are  not  only  under  the  control  of  these  princes,  but  also  under 
that  of  the  Diet.  The  great  constitutional  right — that  of  raising 
the  revenue — is  taken  from  the  Chambers.  The  powers  bestowed 
on  the  separate  rulers,  are  so  vaguely  worded,  that  they  would 
admit  of  almost  indefinite  extension.  And  the  unity  of  Germany  is 
at  length  secured,  by  giving  nearly  absolute  power  to  the  organ  of 
its  princes. 

From  this  time  (1820)  till  1848,  the  Diet  of  the  German  Con- 
federacy has  kept  on  a  regular  and  consistent  course  of  oppression. 
The  people  have  cried  for  "  Unity"  of  government,  and  the  Diet 
have  given  them  "  Unity*'  of  police.  Nothing  has  been  done  for 
Germany.  No  German  fleet  appointed  ;  no  representation  abroad  ; 
no  common  law ;  no  united  postage,  or  united  revenue  system, 
or  common  weight,  or  measure,  or  coinage.  Bat  wherever  free 
thought  could  be  stifled ;  where  the  press  could  be  curbed,  or 
the  university  watched;  where  associations  could  be  restrained, 
or  the  efforts  of  an  oppressed  population  to  regain  its  rights 


THE    DIET.  .         341 

be  crushed,  there  has  been  unity  of  action  enough  on  the  part 
of  the  Diet.  Every  year  it  has  sunk  in  the  respect  of  the 
people.  In  1824,  it  is  found  passing  laws  which  utterly  destroy 
the  independence  and  the  lowest  rights  of  the  provincial  cham- 
bers. 

,  In  the  year  succeeding,  there  is  no  object  of  a  revolutionary 
character  so  insignificant,  in  which  the  National  Assembly  of  Ger- 
many cannot  interfere.  It  legislates  upon  political  clubs,  on  popu- 
lar festivals,  on  radical  newspapers ;  it  passes  acts  against  red 
cockades  and  democratic  hats ;  and  at  length,  it  is  seen  in  1834 
enacting  four  solemn  decrees  on  the  travels  of  German  apprentices  ! 
It  had  become,  amid  the  contempt  of  the  people,  the  great  police- 
office  of  Germany. 

The  news  of  the  Revolution  of  '30  in  France,  spread  deep  excite- 
ment through  Germany.  The  people  became  more  urgent  in  their 
demands ;  and  insurrections  took  place  through  various  provinces. 
No  good  result,  however,  ensued.  The  government  saw  that  any 
popular  representation  in  the  National  Assembly,  would  limit  the 
power  of  the  rulers.  And  each  feared  to  take  measures  for  any 
greater  unity  of  administration,  lest  in  the  new  Constitution 
some  of  the  rival  governments  should  gain  the  ascendancy.  If 
there  were  to  be  a  united  Germany,  Austria  dreaded  that  Prussia 
would  become  the  executive  head  ;  and  Prussia  feared  to  take  a 
second  place  to  Austria ;  and  the  smaller  governments  apprehended 
their  being  entirely  swallowed  up  by  the  two  combined. 

So  again  did  Germany — the  "  patient,  much-suffering"  Germany 
with  its  forty  millions  of  inhabitants,  resign  itself  to  be  robbed  of 
its  rights,  because  thirty  princes — mere  men,  and  very  common 
place  men — could  not  arrange  their  petty  and  interminable  rivalries 
and  jealousies. 

11 


242  SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


As  I  study  the  records  of  this  time  of  darkness;  as  I  observe  the 
inquisition-like  watchfulness  of  the  police,  the  open  and  unrebuked 
acts  of  oppression,  the  subserviency  and  poltroonery  of  leading 
statesmen ;  as  I  see  in  the  correspondence  of  men  of  the  period,  the 
indignation  and  discontent,  working  terribly  through  the  middle 
classes  of  the  people  ;  and  at  the  same  time,  the  step  of  the  oppres- 
sors bolder  and  steadier  than  before,  1  am  recalled  to  the  present 
aspect  of  Germany. 

The  Diet  of  '51  differs  not  a  hair's  breadth  from  that  of '31, 
unless  in  being,  if  possible,  more  absolute  and  more  unprincipled. 
There  is  the  same  discontented,  unhappy,  oppressed  Germany. 

To  th-3  wise  man  of  that  day,  there  were  warnings  in  the  move- 
ments around  him,  of  that  terrible  convulsion  which  in  a  few  years 
was  to  shatter  almost  every  throne  in  Germany.  .  Are  there  not 
signs  EOW  to  the  watchful  observer,  darker  and  even  more  threat- 
ening ? 

To  follow  through  the  acts  of  petty  oppression,  or  wide  injustice 
which  characterize  the  history  of  the  German  Bundestag,  or  Diet, 
till  1848,  is  happily  beyond  my  present  object.  In  February,  1848 
a  member  of  the  Second  Chamber  of  Baden,  rose  and  offered  the  . 
motion,  that  a  petition  be  addressed  to  the  Duke  for  the  furmation 
of  a  popular  Chamber,  in  the  Diet.  The  motion  met  with  universal 
applause  through  Germany ;  and  amid  the  increasing  murmurs  of 
revolution  from  every  side,  was  discussed  with  the  utmost  freedom. 
The  talk  soon  became  openly  of  a  new  "  German  popular  Confede- 
racy." The  governments  were  alarmed  ;  the  Diet  put  forth  procla- 
mations ;  but  in  the  midst,  the  news  came  thundering  through 
Germany  of  another  French  Revolution,  and  a  French  Republic! 
All  saw  at  once  that  the  days  of  the  old  regime  were  numbered. 


THE    PARLIAMENT.  243 

Six  months  before,  words  disrespectful  to  the  Diet  were  high 
treason.  Now  a  Prussian  minister  dared  to  say,  that  the  "  Consti- 
tution of  the  Confederacy  was  so  much  worthless  paper,"  that  "he 
would  know  nothing  of  the  Confederacy,  as  a  Confederacy  of  sove- 
reign Princes."  And  another,  (Bodelschwingh]  that  "the  Consti- 
tution of  the  German  League  was  something  more  than  a  piece  of 
paper,  on  which  were  written  the  articles  of  Confederation,  a  mere 
treaty — that  it  was  a  powerful,  mighty  Being — a  brotherhood  of 
forty  millions  of  Germans  !  " 

The  Diet  made  every  struggle  for  existence.  It  issued  liberal 
proclamations ;  it  voted  the  old  German  colors,  which  it  had  once 
so  stringently  denounced ;  it  proposed  to  the  Governments  to  send 
deputies  to  Frankfort,  to  revise  the  old  Constitution.  But  it  was 
too  late.  The  people  could  not  believe,  that  anything  good  could 
come  out  of  the  Bundestag.  And  on  the  31st  of  March,  1848,  a 
Revolutionary  Assembly  had  met  at  Frankfort,  composed  of  about 
five  hundred  deputies  from  all  parts  of  Germany,  to  deliberate  on  the 
election  and  formalion  of  a  grand  new  NATIONAL  PARLIAMENT. 

With  this  almost  self-elected  body,  (the  Fore-Parliament)  and 
with  its  successor,  the  National  Parliament,  the  old  Diet  strove  hard 
to  agree.  But  it  found  continually,  that  its  young  rivals  were  en- 
croaching on  it ;  that  the  law-giving  power  was  first  taken  away, 
and  then,  by  the  formation  of  a  "  provisional  central  power,"  its 
executive  office  was  reduced  to  nothing ;  and  that  all  parties,  princes 
and  people,  had  lost  respect  and  confidence  for  it. 

At  length,  on  the  12th  of  July,  1848,  it  terminated  its  existence, 
by  the  President  of  the  Diet  formally  transferring  its  rights  and  au- 
thorities to  the  Administrator  of  the  new  Federal  Germany,  ARCH 
DUKE  JOHN. 

"Whether,  says  a  spirited  writer  in  the  "  Gegenwart "  of  '49,  the 


244  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY 


German  League  was  also  dissolved  by  this  dissolution  of  the  Diet, 
is  still  a  question.  One  thing  is  certain,  The  League  which  the 
sovereign  German  princes  and  free  cities  had  made,  and  whose  organ 
and  representative  was  the  German  Diet,  is  on  the  12th  of  July, 
buried  for  eternal  times.  Over  its  tomb,  has  .the  League  of  the 
NATION  been  erected  ;  a  new  covenant  with  a  new  meaning  is  made, 
to  which  also  the  new  form  will  not  be  wanting.  May  soon  to  our 
descendants,  the  disgrace  of  the  old  League,  be  only  an  incredible 
fact ! 

Alas !   the  writer  himself  has  probably  lived  to  see  the  "  Old 
League  returned  "  tenfold  worse  than  before." 


CHAPTEK  XXVI. 

THE    LAST    ATTEMPTS    FOR    GERMAN    UNION. 

OF  the  German  NATIONAL  PARLIAMENT  in  1848—9,  I  do  not 
propose  here  particularly  to  speak.  It  is  an  interesting  historical 
fact,  but  in  no  way  closely  connected  with  the  present  condition  of 
Germany.  The  attempt  was  a  splendid  experiment — thus  to  build  up, 
on  popular  representation,  a  consolidated  empire,  of  thirty  indepen- 
dent sovereign  states,  The  intense  hopes  and  almost  passionate-  ex- 
pectations of  the  lovers  of  freedom  through  the  whole  German  Father- 
land, followed  the  effort.  The  Germany,  which  the  Professors  at 
Frankfort  would  frame  in  one  session,  was  such  as  the  Past  had 
never  seen.  It  was  neither  the  old  Empire,  with  its  rival  and  con- 
flicting States ;  nor  the  modern  Confederacy,  with  its  union  of  des- 
potic princes.  It  was  a  free,  popular,  compact  Germany.  The  forty 
millions  of  the  German  race  were  at  length  to  stand,  as  one  people 
in  Europe.  A  new  state,  more  powerful  than  the  Germany  of 
Charlemagne,  of  Frederick  II,  or  of  Charles  V,  was  at  once  to  be 
erected.  Prussia  was  to  disappear  as  Prussia  ;  Austria  to  be  only  a 
second-rate  power ;  Saxony,  Bavaria,  Hanover,  to  be  only  provinces 
in  this  mighty  kingdom.  A  common  law,  a  common  coinage,  a 
common  force  was  to  rule  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Adriatic — and  an 
executive  to  be  chosen  with  powers  such  as  the  old  German  Em- 


240  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


peror  never  dared  to  claim.  All  this  grand  Empire  was  to  be 
governed  by  a  constitutional  Parliament,  based  on  free,  popular 
representation — a  magnificent  project,  and  formed  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  noblest  purposes.  Still,  we  are  forced  to  confess  it  was 
one  for  which  Germany  has  never  yet  shown  herself  prepared.  In- 
numerable difficulties  incumbered  the  Frankfort  legislators  on  every 
side.  They  knew  nothing  themselves  of  practical  politics.  Each 
one  had  his  own  political  theory,  elaborated  long  in  the  study  or 
the  lecture-room ;  and  now,  on  this  grand  theatre,  it  must  be  dis- 
played and  realized.  Endless,  hair-splitting  discussions  occupied  the 
golden  time,  when  they  might  have  firmly  settled  their  authority 
over  the  whole  nation.  Questions  pressed  upon  them,  also,  which 
might  have  puzzled  much  older  legislators — the  relations  of  the 
Central  Power  with  the  different  States,  and  the  obligations  of  the 
States  to  this  new,  undefined  general  government.  The  democracy 
besieged  them  on  the  one  hand,  with  their  demands  for  a  universal 
license,  and  the  governments,  on  the  other,  asserted  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  separate  kingdoms.  They  could  content  neither  party  ; 
and  asserted  rights  over  each,  which  the  other  would  not  aid  them 
in  maintaining.  In  excluding  the  non-Germanic  provinces,  they 
offended  Austria;  and  in  their  democratic  discussions,  alarmed 
Prussia.  Even  the  offer  of  the  crown  of  the  new  German  Empire 
could  not  win  over  the  Prussian  king.  And  when,  at  length,  they 
called  in  the  soldiers  of  the  princes,  to  save  them  from  the  violence 
of  the  people,  it  was  felt  that  their  day,  of  power  wa%  over.  The 
first  formal  intimation  of  the  helplessness  of  the  Parliament  was 
given  in  May,  1849,  to  its  envoy,  by  the  Prussian  Minister,  who 
coldly  "  declined  any  foreign  interference  in  their  interior  affairs,"  and 
recommended  to  the  Central  Power,  to  "  confine  its  attention  to 
matters  nearer  home." 


NEW   UNIONS.  247 


Nothing  daunted,  that  body  (May  10th)  made  a  bold  declara- 
tion that  a  recent  ac,t  of  Prussia — her  interference  in  the  Dresden 
insurrection — was  a  violation  of  the  public  peace  ;  whereupon  (May 
14,  1849)  the  Prussian  Government  proclaimed  the  authority  of  the 
Parliament  at  an  end,  and  that  it  "  was  no  longer  the  representative 
of  the  German  Nation." 

With  this  terminated,  so  far  as  its  influence  over  Germany  was 
concerned,  the  existence  of  the  German  National  Parliament. 


Despite  this  sad  failure  of  the  popular  attempt  to  form  a 
United  Germany,  the  efforts  were  still  continued  on  the  side  of  the 
princes. 

The  king  of  Prussia  now  made  overtures  for  a  German  Union  ; 
and  on  the  26th  of  May,  (1849),  struck  a  league  with  the  kings  of 
Saxony  and  Hanover,  known  as  the  "  League  of  the  three  Kings." 
In  this  Union,  twenty-eight  States  were  gathered.  It  was  not 
claimed  to  be  a  universal  union,  but  according  to  one  of  the  articles 
of  the  Treaty  of  Vienna,  was  formed  as  a.  separate  league  (Sonder- 
bund)  within  the  German  League. 

As  an  offset  to  this,  Austria  (September  30)  instituted  a  Federal 
Commission  or  Executive  Council,  to  take  the  place  of  the  executive 
administered  by  Archduke  John  ;  thus  forming  another  German 
Federal  Government. 

The  "  League  of  the  three  Kings"  did  not  enjoy  a  long  existence. 
The  kings  of  Saxony  and  Hanover  soon  found  that  its  great  object 
was  to  make  Prussia  the  leading  state  of  Germany  ;  and  as  they  no 
longer  had  need  of  Prussian  soldiers  to  restrain  their  turbulent  peo- 
ples, they  abruptly  retired,  with  the  declaration,  that  "  the  measures 


248  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


of  Prussia  for  forming  a  Federal  State  were  hardly  opportune,  when 
the.  whole  of  South  Germany  was  wanting." 

"  German  Union"  was  in  fact  now  nearly  given  up,  and  the 
struggle  was  to  be  between  Prussian  Union  and  Austrian  Union. 
To  complete  the  division,  the  smaller  kingdoms,  Bavaria,  Wurtern- 
burg  and  Saxony,  in  their  fear  of  the  two  great  rivals,  formed  (Feb- 
ruary 27,  1850)  another  Union.  Thus  did  the  opening  of  1850 
show  to  the  world,  as  the  result  of  the  enthusiastic  struggles  of 
1848,  for  a  united  Germany,  no  less  than  three  separate  Unions, 
rivals  and  enemies,  within  the  limits  of  the  German  Confederacy. 

The  king  of  Prussia  did  not  yet,  however,  entirely  abandon  his 
efforts  for  a  confederacy.  'Whether  with  his  ideal  enthusiasm  he 
had  really  formed  a  scheme  for  a  United  Fatherland,  which,  with 
characteristic  fickleness,  he  as  easily  threw  aside ;  or  whether  he 
merely  intended  the  whole  movement  as  a  blind  to  his  disappointed 
people,  is  not  to  my  mind,  from  the  result,  clear.  On  March  20th, 
he  summoned  a  Congress  at  Erfurt,  seriously  to  consider  the  forma- 
tion of  a  Federal  Germany.  The  plan  laid  before  this  body,  for  the 
Constitution  of  the  German  Empire,  was  perhaps  too  democratic 
and  too  favorable  to  unity,  to  please  even  the  court  itself. 

"Within  a  month,  the  Congress  was  dissolved,  to  be  replaced  by  a 
"Congress  of  Princes,"  who  were  to  meet  the  10th  of  May,  at 
Gotha,  to  consult  for  similar  objects.  On  that  same  day,  however, 
Austria  had  taken  a  much  more  important  step,  which  has  deter- 
mined the  condition  of  Germany  up  to  the  present  time.  With  a 
bold  forgetfulness  of  thirty-five  years  of  popular  discontent  and  fear- 
ful suffering  and  out-bursting  rebellion,  under  the  old  German  Bund  • 
with  an  insulting  defiance  to  all  Prussia's  efforts  and  those  of  the 
nation  for  a  new  confederacy,  she  calmly  summoned  the  plenipo- 


POLITICAL    CHANGES.  249 

tentiaries  of  the  German  Governments  to  Frankfort,  on  the  10th  of 
May,  to  hold  the  full  session  (Plenum*)  of  .the  old  Diet. 

In  other  words,  she  returned  formally,  to  the  Vienna  Treaties  of 
1815,  as  the  basis  of  the  German  Constitution.  Of  her  success  in 
this  apparently  difficult  and  presumptuous  undertaking,  I  shall  not 
here  speak  minutely.  It  is  enough  to  say,  that  by  bold  bearing 
and  shrewd  diplomacy,  she  ousted  Prussia  from  every  new  position, 
degraded  her  in  the  eyes  of  her  own  friends,  and  succeeded  in. 
carrying  every  point  of  her  daring  policy. 

Germany,  so  long  agitated,  torn  and  wounded  in  her  struggles 
for  National  Freedom,  and  Unity,  now  lies  calmly  under  the  old 
arbitrary  regulations  of  1815;  governed  by  the  detested  Bund  ot 
confederated  petty  tyrants,  with  the  House  of  Hapsburg  at  the  head, 
enjoying  an  unchecked  dominion,  such  as  her  proudest  emperors 
have  not  held. 


That  the  Past  gives  but  little  hope  of  a  union  for  Germany  must 
be  painfully  evident,  even  from  this  brief  abstract  of  her  history. 
There  never  has  been  a  United  Germany.  The  old  Germanic 
Roman  Empire  was  only  an  ill-adjusted  League  of  independent 
states  for  the  sake  of  in  ternal  peace.  The  modern  confederacy  has 
been  only  a  Confederacy  of  princes,  banded  to  oppress  the  people. 
Kings,  who  from  motives  of  ambition  or  of  romance,  have  labored 

*  The  Plenum  was  the  legislative  body  of  the  Diet,  with  sixty-nine 
voices,  of  which  each  state  had  at  least  one,  and  some  four.  The  smaller 
Executive  Council  had  only  seventeen  voices,  of  which  eleven  States  had 
each  one.  and  all  the  others  only  six.  The  discussions  in  regard  to  the  num- 
ber of  votes  to  each  state,  formed,  afterwards,  the  most  important  part  of  the 
proceedings  at  the  '"  Dresden  Conferences,"  in  1851. 
11* 


250  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


to  rebuild  a  grand  German  Empire,  have  equally  failed  with  Par- 
liaments and  representatives  elected  to  construct  a  popular  state. 
Every  experiment  has  had  its  trial,  whether  coming  from  the  prince, 
the  professor,  or  the  popular  statesman — and  each  has  come  to 
nought. 

Neither  do  present  appearances  promise  better.  There  are  now 
in  Germany,  taking  the  statistics  for  1849,*  thirty-eight  separate, 
independent  states,  containing  46  millions  of  inhabitants.  Of  these 
the  two  largest,  (Austria  and  Prussia,)  have  nearly  28  millions,  or 
more  than  half  the  whole  number.  Of  the  others,  the  three  king- 
doms, (Hanover,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Saxony,)  have  not  any  one,  a 
population  as  great  as  London  ;  and  the  seventeen  smallest  states,  or 
more  than  half  of  the  whole,  have  not  together,  more  inhabitants 
than  Paris. 

The  population  of  the  different  states  ranges  from  6,500  (Prince- 
dom of  Liechtenstein,)  to  15,648,000  (Prussia.) 

Each  one  of  these  petty  states,  princedoms,  duchies,  and  king- 
doms, has  its  own  distinct  government ;  its  own  code  of  laws  ;  its 
own  past  history  ;  and  especially,  its  own  ineradicable  jealousy  of 
its  nearest  neighbors.  The  only  bond  to  this  multitude  of  states,  is 
a  common  language  and  a  common  blood.  It  is  manifest  from  the 
very  statement  of  their  population,  that  the  two  largest  powers  com- 
pletely hold  the  others  in  check  ;  and  that  no  attempt  at  Union  can 
succeed,  in  which  both  these  do  not  join. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  these  two  States  are  the  representa- 
tives of  different  religions,  and  of  different  political  schools ;  that 
behind  them  lies  a  long  history  of  bitter  hatred  and  warfare;  that 
each  has  its  national  pride  and  local  interests,  must  we  not  feai 
*  Die  Gegenwart,  No.  25,  1849. 


HOPES   FOR   GERMANY.  251 


many  a  year  will  pass  yet,  before  a  German  Union  is  framed  by  the 
union  of  Prussia  and  Austria. 

It  is  true,  our  own  American  Confederacy  of  heterogeneous  races, 
and  religions,  and  interests,  might  give  us  hope  for  Germany.  But 
with  us,  there  is  not  this  past  history  of  intense  jealousy  and  unceas- 
ing dissension  ;  there  is  not  the  local  boundary,  which  at  once  separates 
religions  and  interests.  The  Frenchman  of  New  Orleans,  the  Catholic- 
German  of  Ohio,  and  the  planter  of  the  Carolinas,  look  back  to  the 
same  history,  and  work  often  side  by  side  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  and 
the  Puritan.  But  for  the  Prussian  to  forget  he  is  a  Prussian,  or  for 
the  Austrian  to  sink  his  memory  of  a  proud  history,  for  the  Saxon,  the 
Bavarian  and  the  Hanoverian  to  bury  their  time-embittered  jealousies  ; 
for  one  and  all,  Monarchist  and  Republican,  the  Jesuit  of  Vienna, 
and  the  Rationalist  of  Beilin,  the  passionate  Southerner  and  the  cool 
North-German,  to  unite  and  form  a  new  compact  Federal  State, 
seems  as  yet  like  a  dream  only  of  the  lovers  of  Freedom. 

Yet  it  shall  not  be  always  so.  It  is  manifest  through  the  whole 
history,  that  it  is  the  PEOPLE  who  have  always  most  longed  for 
union.  They  have  seen  that  liberty  from  these  thirty  tyrants,  could 
only  be  secured  by  their  own  harmony.  A  united,  popular  Ger- 
many would  throw  off  as  encumbrances,  this  horde  of  petty  op- 
pressors. 

When,  at  length,  there  is  a  Germany  with  a  common  people  edu- 
cated for  Liberty,  when  revolution  is  a  struggle  not  for  license  but 
for  rights,  then  will  there  be  the  first  approach  to  Unity.  A  free 
Germany  must  be  a  united  Germany.  Sectional  jealousies  will  dis- 
appear in  the  great  victory  of  popular  rights.  Prussia  may  still  be 
Prussia,  as  distinct  from  Austria,  as  with  us  Massachusetts  is  from 
Louisiana;  but,  with  a  people  disciplined  for  freedom  and  with  no 
princely  houses  to  foment  the  jealousies,  what  is  there  to  hinder  them 


252  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


at  length  from  combining  for  great  public  objects  under  one  common. 
Constitution. 

If  the  nations  of  Europe  ever  learn  the  lesson  of  self-government 
from  these  many  defeats,  we  believe  that  Germany  may  at  length, 
realize  the  old  dread  of  her  patriots — A  GERMAN  UNION. 


CHAPTEE  XXYII. 

A  PRUSSIAN    OFFICER — AND    THE    ARMY. 

JANUARY,  1851. 
I  HAVE  been  holding  a  very  interesting  conversation  to-day  with 

a  Prussian  gentleman,  a  retired  officer,  Colonel ,  well  known 

to  the  Americans  here.  He  is  of  the  old  school,  having  served  un- 
der Bliicher ;  and  was  wounded,  I  think,  at  Waterloo,  and  after- 
wards pensioned.  He  has  all  the  Prussian  pride,  and  that  military 
corps-feeling  which  the  government  has  so  cherished.  A  devoted 
Royalist,  though  just  now  it  seems  to  pain  him,  as  we  speak  of  the 
king ;  and  we  are  quite  cautious  about  alluding  to  these  late  events. 
He  thinks  this  recent  disgrace  in  Cassel  before  the  Austrians  is  all 
from  "  the  evil  counsellors  of  His  Majesty."  "  New  men  are  in," 
he  says,  "  who  do  not  care  for  the  honor  of  Prussia  ! "  According 
to  his  account,  and  the  general  opinion,  the  tone  of  the  aimy  has 
been  wonderfully  raised  within  a  few  years.  No  flogging,  or  brutal 
punishment  is  allowed  now.  A  man  previously  sentenced  for  a 
criminal  offence  is  never  admitted  into  the  ranks.  There  are  "  courts 
of  honor,"  too,  among  the  officers,  which  can  punish,  and  severely, 
any  infringement  of  the  "  code."  Their  decisions  in  weighty  mat- 
ters are  submitted  to  the  king.  Every  means  is  used  to  give  this 
high,  gentlemanly  tone  to  the  army.  The  officers  (of  the  line) 


254  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY 


must  all  be  men  of  education,  and  pass  an  examination  at  every  new 
step  in  rank.  Every  private  can  reach  the  highest  place,  if  he  only 
show  merit  enough.  Colonel 's  account  is  entirely  substanti- 
ated by  what  I  observe  everywhere  in  Berlin.  The  city  is  crowded 
with  soldiery,  but  the  manners  of  officers  to  privates  are  the  most 
exact  possible.  A  failure  in  courtesy  on  either  side  is  considered  an 
offence.  An  under-officer  was  recently  put  under  arrest  for  neglect- 
ing to  touch  his  hat  to  a  superior ;  and  there  is  a  story  told  of  a 
Lieutenant  B.,  who  lately  met  a  private  in  the  street,  and  in  return 
for  his  salute,  stopped  and  chucked  him  under  the  chin,  in  an  in- 
sulting \vav.  The  soldier,  though  bitterly  offended,  remained  true 
to  his  military  etiquette,  touched  his  hat  again  with  the  words,  "  I 
report  myself  insulted  ! "  and  at  once  entered  a  complaint.  The 
Lieutenant  was  publicly  disgraced. 

I  find  soldiers  generally  in  society  here ;  and  there  is  a  very  con- 
siderable sprinkling  of  epaulettes  in  the  lecture-rooms  at  the  Uni- 
versity. The  three  years  course  at  the  Military  Academy  demands 
a  certain  amount  of  time  to  be  spent  in  the  University.  Besides 
this  school,  there  are  Artillery  and  Engineering  Schools  in  the  city, 
Riding  Schools  and  a  Medical  College  for  the  Army.  Everything 
shows  that  the  greatest  possible  pains  are  taken  to  make  the  sol- 
diers' profession,  an  educated  profession. 

I  asked  Colonel ,  whether  the  soldiers  ever  took  part  in  po- 
litical life  at  all  ?  "No,"  he  said.  "  An  army,  in  tlve  nature  of  the 
case,  must  obey ;  and  we  do  not  permit  the  soldiers  to  take  oath  on 
the  Constitution.  We  all  obey  the  king  alone.  Besides,  according 
to  the  Constitution  last  year,  there  can  be  no  assemblies  or  elections 
in  the  army,  and  we  hope  there  never  will  be.  May  God  long 
preserve  our  gallant  host  from  these  poisonous  democratic  move- 
ments ! " 


A  LOYAL   SOLDIER.  255 


Did  not  lie  fear  combinations  among  them  ? 

Xo;  for  the  officers  are  usually  so  distinct  from  the  privates,  and 
from  such  different  districts,  that  they  would  not  easily  unite.  Be- 
sides there  is  a  great  deal  of  esprit  du,  corps  in  the  militia,  (Land- 
wehr)  as  the  battalions  are  raised  each  from  its  own  district,  and 
represent  that  part  of  the  country.  As  for  the  regular  line,  they 
will  never  combine,  with  God's  aid,  except  as  in  1814  to  defend  their 
country.  "  No,  monsieur ;  it  is  not  Democracy  which  our  brave 
army  has  to  fear ;  it  is  these  misguided  men  who  are  now  at  the 
helm  of  government.  If  our  soldiers  lose  the  sense  of  Prussian 
honor — alle.s  ist  verloren — all  is  gone  !  " 

My  friend,  the  Colonel's, views  were  equally  exaltirt,  as  the  Ger- 
mans say,  or  enthusiastic  on  everything  pertaining  to  the  army. 
He  even  defended  that  ugly,  blue  frock-coat,  a  garment  made  appa- 
rently neither  for  peace  nor  war — too  ill-fitting  for  a  citizen,  and  too 
plain  for  a  soldier.  The  spiked  leather  helmets,  he  assured  me, 
were  also  the  most  convenient  head-pieces,  and  were  often  bullet- 
proof. The  minie,  or  Zundnadel  rifle,  so  much  in  use  in  the  Prus- 
sian army,  he  says  will  strike  its  mark  a  half-mile  without  difficulty, 
and  is  a  very  great  improvement.  Other  military  men,  I  find,  do 
not  speak  so  well  of  it.  It  is  cumbersome  ;  and  takes  much  time 
in  the  cleaning  and  loading,  and  is  very  liable  to  get  out  of  repair, 
they  say. 

Whenever  I  converse  with  a  Prussian  soldier,  or  study  the  mili- 
tary system  which  has  formed  him,  T  am  struck  with  the  skill  with 
which  a  nation  of  soldiers  is  thus  educated,  and  put  at  the  disposal 
of  one  man.  An  organization  so  compact,  so  easily  managed,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  so  calculated  to  uphold  the  sovereign,  has,  per- 
haps, never  been  witnessed  in  history.  The  army  of  nearly  800,000 
fighting  men  is  not  a  set  of  war-machines,  like  the  Austrian  troops, 


S58  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


or  of  blind,  ignorant  devotees,  like  the  Russian.  It  is  a  proud,  chiv- 
alrous, high-spirited  body.  It  is  entirely  separated  from  the  State; 
while  its  internal  organization  is  essentially  popular.  No  political 
sympathies  are  allowed.  Its  thoughts  and  feelings  are  all  turned 
within  itself.  Merit,  talent  and  bravery  can  win  the  highest  rank  ; 
and  the  soldier  is  taught  early,  that  the  honor  of  his  corps  and  his 
King  are  especially  entrusted  to  him.  lie  owes  no  allegiance  to  the 
State.  The  king  is  his  Commander-in-chief,  and  alone  has  the  power 
of  promoting  him. 

It  will  furnish  a  clearer  idea  of  the  power  thus  put  into  the  hands 
of  the  King  of  Prussia,  to  give  a  brief  description  of  this  famous 
military  system. 

Every  young  man  in  Prussia,  on  reaching  the  age  of  twenty,  is 
liable  to  be  drafted  into  the  ranks  of  the  standing  army.  No  sub- 
stitute is  allowed  ;  and  except  in  princes  of  the  blood,  no  exceptions 
are  made — not  even  for  the  nobility  or  the  clergymen.  If  he  is 
drafted  into  the  infantry  of  the  line,  he  serves  two  years  ;  if,  into  that 
uf  the  guard,  three  years.  If,  however,  he  be  a  volunteer,  and  can 
show  a  certificate  of  previous  examination,  proving  a  certain  mode- 
rate degree  of  scientific  education,  his  time  of  service  is  shortened  to 
one  year,  at  his  own  expense.  A  part,  too,  of  the  regular  service  is 
often  shortened  for  the  others,  by  their  being  placed  in  the  "  Re- 
serve," as  the  regiments  are  not  filled  out  in  time  of  peace.  When- 
ever the  army  is  to  be  prepared  for  war,  or  mobilised,  the  Reserve 
step  into  their  respective  regiments  again.  Though  all  the  men 
through  Prussia  twenty  years  old  are  liable  thus  to  be  drawn  into  the 
ranks,  not  more  than  half  are  drawn  annually.  In  1 846,  it  is  reckoned 
that  there  were  160,000  men  in  Prussia  of  that  age;  of  these 
were  called  out,  and  only  39,790  sent  to  the  regiments — 


THE    ARMY.  257 

the  rest  being  kept  as  Reserve.    The  regular  army  numbers  138,810 ; 
with  the  Reserve  225,550. 

Besides  this,  there  are  two  divisions  of  militia  (Landwehr) ;  and 
another  body  of  reserve  (Landsturm).  To  the  first  division  belong 
all  the  men  of  the  kingdom  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-three  years 
of  age,  or  those  who  have  served  five  years  in  the  line.  The  time 
of  service  in  this  is  seven  years.  This  body  is  designed  mostly  for 
defence,  and  numbers  (in  1850)  174,616.  It  can  be  used,  how- 
ever, for  external  war,  in  aid  of  the  regular  troops.  The  second 
division  takes  all  those  "who  have  served  seven  years  in  the  first 
and  who  are  between  thirty-three  and  thirty-nine  years.  This  is 
employed  for  fortresses  and  for  internal  defence  alone.  It  numbers 
175,196. 

The  last  reserve  (Landsturm)  is  never  called  out  except  in  case 
of  an  invasion  by  the  enemy  within  the  country,  or  in  any  great 
danger,  at  the  command  alone  of  the  King.  To  it,  belong  all  who 
have  served  in  the  other  divisions,  who  are  yet  under  fifty  years  of 
age,  and  all  who  have  not  served,  from  seventeen  to  twenty  years 
of  age. 

The  standing  army,  with  the  two  divisions,  would  reach  the  num- 
ber of  574,362  ;  and  on  a  war  footing  would  not  be  far  from  600,000 
men.  Adding  the  last  reserve  of  militia,  and  the  Prussian  host 
would  amount  to  nearly  800,000  fighting  men. 

This  immense  host,  too,  be  it  remembered,  is  not  a  multitude  of 
raw  soldiers,  such  as  we  usually  call  militia ;  but  nearly  all  men, 
drilled  for  many  years  in  military  exercises,  commanded  by  care- 
fully educated  officers,  and  animated  by  a  common  military  pride. 
A  more  tremendous  weapon  has  scarce  ever  been  in  the  hands  of  a 
modern  State.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  too,  that  since  it  was 
used  with  such  fearful  effect  upon  Napoleon,  it  has  hardly  been 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


wielded  in  these  modern  wars.  In  1806,  the  array  had  become 
thoroughly  vitiated  by  luxury,  and  altogether  turned  from  the  popu- 
lar and  spirited  direction  given  to  it  by  the  Great  Frederick.  It 
needed  the  fearful  and  disgraceful  punishment,  which  Napoleon 
inflicted,  to  bring  it  back  to  a  suitable  spirit.  Under  those  days  of 
sore  trial  and  crushing  disgrace,  it  learned  a  lesson  which  it  will 
never  forget ;  and  with  the  skillful  organization  of  SCHAKNHORST,  it 
resumed  its  old  character.  It  was  popularized  ;  ranks  were  thrown 
open  ;  new  honors  held  forth ;  and  the  ancient  esprit  da  corps 
evoked.  Every  nerve,  too,  of  the  lamed  and  exhausted  kingdom 
was  strained  to  fill  it.  And  with  success.  Of  all  the  attacks  which 
beat  back  the  iron  columns -of  Napoleon  in  the  disastrous  campaign, 
that  ended  in  the  battle  of  Paris,  none  were  so  unrelenting  and  so 
irresistible  as  those  of  Blucher  and  his  fiery  Prussian  corps. 

In  these  late  years,  the  army  has  been  only  occasionally  em- 
ployed ;  and  then  for  no  cause  which  could  especially  arouse  its 
spirit.  To  shoot  down  democrats  in  Baden,  or  extinguish  revolu- 
tions in  Dresden,  would  hardly  satisfy  the  old  Prussian  pride.  The 
war  in  Holstein  against  the  Danes  was  of  a  more  popular  nature. 
And  in  this  the  Prussians  swept  everything  before  them.  This 
winter  has  witnessed  the  first  grand  preparations  for  war  in  Prussia, 
since  the  campaigns  against  Napoleon.  The  whole  nation  rose,  as 
they  did  in  1814.  Had  this  king  possessed  the  genius  or  the 
spirit  of  his  great  ancestor,  he  might  have  led  a  conquering  army 
from  one  end  of  Germany  to  the  other.  At  the  head  of  the  whole 
liberal  party  of  Germany,  with  a  nation  of  soldiers  confident  of  victory, 
nothing  could  have  withstood  him.  Twice  has  Frederick  William 
thrown  away  those  grand  opportunities  which  fortune  seldom  offers 
men  even  once.  The  first  time,  the  imperial  crown  of  Germany 


ITS    EXPENSE.  259 


was  within  his  reach.  The  second,  a  whole  people  stood  in  arms  at 
his  summons,  burning  for  vengeance.  By  his  timidity  in  the  first, 
he  has  alienated  the  whole  liberal  interest  of  Germany  ;  by  his  fickle- 
ness in  the  second,  he  has  lost  his  greatest  support,  the  devotion  of 
the  Prussian  army. 

Who  shall  say,  that  in  these  strange  weaknesses  of  its  rulers, 
Providence  is  not  bringing  on  a  better  day  for  Prussia? 

This  grer.t  army  organization,  is  an  immense  expense  and  loss  to 
Prussia.  In  1848  there  were  in  the  kingdom  1,794,051  men  be- 
tween the  ages  of  twenty  and  thirty-two.  Of  these,  more  than  one 
quarter  were  withdrawn  from  all  the  pursuits  which  tend  to  increase 
the  wealth  or  the  happiness  of  the  people,  from  all  care  of  their 
families,  and  all  steady  labor,  to  spend  their  time  in  military  drilling. 
Everywhere  in  the  country,  one  sees,  that  the  fields  are  tilled  by 
women,  while  the  men  are  leading  idle  and  mechanical  lives  in  the 
barracks  of  the  cities. 

All  active  thought  is  extinguished,  except  in  professional  matters ; 
practice  in  political  affairs  is  lost,  as  the  soldier,  "Nach  der  Natur 
der  Sache"  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  as  my  friend  the  colonel  said, 
cannot  be  a  citizen.  The  whole  system  over  the  modern  Prussian 
tends  only  to  make  him  a  loyal  feudal  servant  of  his  lord  the  King, 
and  of  the  great  "  Prussian  Royal  Army." 

Besides  the  loss,  in  the  absence  of  so  many  able-bodied  men  fronx 
all  useful  pursuits,  Prussia  pays  in  time  of  peace  for  her  army, 
$19,150,000  per  annum — or  nearly  three  times  the  sum  paid  for 
the  same  object  by  the  United  States,  with  a  population  ten  millions 
greater,  and  a  territory  a  hundred  times  as  large,  to  defend.  Still, 
the  Prussian  finances  have  always  been  managed  with  extraordinary 
economy.  The  whole  pay  of  a  private  is  only  from  2|  to  3  gros- 
chen  (6  to  7|  cents)  a  day.  In  1847,  the  clothing  for  every  pri- 


260  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


vate  soldier  only  averaged  $7.50  for  the  year ;  and  it  is  estimated 
that  each  soldier  only  costs  the  state  $135  per  annum  for  food, 
lodging  and  all  expenses. 

Of  the  whole  expenses  of  the  Prussian  Government,  the  army  take 
somewhat  more  than  forty  per  cent 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

A  PROFESSOR'S  EVENING  PARTY. 

February,  185L 

I  WAS  invited  last  evening  to  a  small  party  at  Prof. 5s.     I 

went  about  eight  o'clock,  as  the  invitation  was  to  tea,  and  found  the 
company  just  assembling.  The  same  plainness  here,  again,  in  the 
furnishing  of  the  rooms,  which  I  observe  everywhere.  No  carpets, 
furniture  light  but  pleasing,  and  pretty  shows  of  flowers  throughout. 
The  writing-desk  in  l^he  corner,  is  arched  with  a  trellis-work  of  vines ; 
and  the  deep  alcoves  of  the  windows  show  through  the  curtains, 
flowers  and  tropical  fruit,  arranged  so  as  almost  to  give  the  effect  of 
a  bower.  There  is  to  be,  contrary  to  the  custom,  only  a  little  danc- 
ing at  this  party,  and  the  most  of  the  time  shall  be  for  conversation. 
An. especial  god-send  too,  such  a  company  is  to  the  Berlin  young 
people ;  for  generally  the  laws  of  society  for  the  intercourse  of 
young  gentlemen  and  ladies,  are  the  strictest  possible.  Every  gen- 
tleman is  assumed — before  anything  is  known  to  the  contrary — to 
be  of  lax  principles.  He  cannot  walk  out  with  a  lady  ;  he  cannot 
accompany  her  to  a.meeting,  a  concert,  or  a  theatre  ;  he  must  not 
see  her  at  her  own  house,  except  in  company  with  her  mother,  or 
guardian.  She  never  goes  into  company,  without  an  older  relative  ; 
and  for  her  to  invite  any  young  gentleman  to  her  house,  would  be 
the  greatest  breach  of  etiquette.  The  proper  place  for  intercourse 


262  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


between  the  sexes,  is  considered  to  be  the  ball-room  ;  and  the  few 
words  passed  there,  are  usually  the  basis,  and  often  the  'main  part 
of  their  knowledge  of  one  another,  before  the  parties  become  more 
nearly  connected.  Of  .course,  there  are  exceptions  to  this — families 
where  all  the  free,  social  intercourse  of  American  life  is  carried  on — • 
but,  in  general,  this  treating  of  the  two  sexes,  as  if  they  were  morally 
dangerous  to  one  another,  is  kept  up  through  Germany.  A  stranger 
never  suffers  from  such  rules.  He  is  charitably  supposed  to  be  ut- 
terly ignorant  of  them,  and  can  break  over  as  many  as  he  chooses 
I  certainly  transgressed  them  ad  libitum. 

Beside  many  pleasant  young  people  in  the  company  this  evening, 
there  were  a  considerable  number  of  scientific  men.  In  all  society, 
I  think  the  pleasantest  set,  is  usually  the  scientific.  The  study  of 
the  natural  sciences  seems  to  give  a  freshness  and  geniality  to  the 
mind,  which  no  other  pursuit  does.  Of  those  who  meet  at  different 
times  in  the  scientific  circles  of  Berlin,  there  occur  to  me  with  plea- 
sure, the  genial  Mitscherlich,  professor  of  chemistry,  the  Roses, 
Humboldt,  who  appears  even  yet  in  social  circles,  with  all  the  live- 
liness of  youth  ;  the  brothers  Schlagentweit,  who,  though  mere 
boys,  have  won  a  European  reputation  from  their  researches  in 
physical  geography  in  the  Alps ;  Professors  Dove  and  Magnus,  and 
many  an  other. 

It  is  pleasant  to  an  American  to  find  certain  of  our  scientific  men 
spoken  of  and  respected  among  these,  as  authorities  ;  Dana  in 
Mineralogy,  and  Gray  in  Botany,  seem  as  well  known  among  the 
learned  in  Prussia,  as  in  New  England.  Silliman,  too,  is  everywhere 
gratefully  recognized  as  the  founder  almost  of  natural  science  in  our 
western  continent. 

I  found  myself  in  the  course  of  the  evening,  how,  I  forget,  in  easy 
conversation  with  a  young  lady,  over  Goethe's  "  Wahlverwand- 


OUR    COMPANY.  263 


chaften"  or '"Instinct  Affinities,"  as  it  might  be  translated, — a 
novel  the  most  dangerous  possible  to  a  weak  mind.  The  story,  it 
will  be  remembered,  represents  two  married  people  unsnited  to  one 
another,  but  who  each  find  the  objects  of  their  sympathies  in  ano- 
ther couple  living  with  them.  The  struggles  and  the  sorrows  in 
the  temptation,  and  the  final  triumph  of  instinct  over  all  obligation 
and  duty  are  most  painfully  pictured.  I  had  no  thought  of  any 
one  ever  defending  it,  as  other  than  an  exquisitely  drawn  picture  of 
passion.  But  the  lady,  who  though  young  is  well  known  in  Berlin 
for  her  genius  and  her  noble  heart,  did  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  it 
contained  its  truth.  Partly  to  draw  out  her  meaning,  I  ridiculed  the 
whole  idea,  in  the  strongest  language. 

It  was  altogether  striking  to  see  the  noble  and  free  way,  in  which 
she  roused  herself  to  maintain  the  idea  of  the  author.  It  was  a 
delicate  matter  to  handle ;  but  in  full,  free  tones,  she  told  mo  we 
could  not  appreciate  the  great  heart  of  a  Goethe.  He  believed — 
and  she  believed  that  there  was  an  affinity  of  one  heart  to  another, 
which  was  above  all  law.  God  himself  had  created  it !  There  are 
instincts  which  no  one  can  govern.  And  even  if  the  tie  is  not 
broken  legally,  there  is  a  relationship  of  heart ! 

"  But  he  would  do  away  with  the  obligation  of  marriage ;  he 
would  make  a  communism  in  wives  !" 

"  No ; — he  would  make  us  more  creatures  of  instinct,  so  that  our 
marriages  and  everything  may  be  more  natural.  Now  are  we  not 
all  artificial !  We  fear  to  think,  or  act,  or  feel,  as  our  hearts  prompt 
us.  People  who  are  so  cold  and  dry,  may  talk  of  laws,  but  the 
men  of  heart  do  not  own  such  laws.  Goethe  believed  that  men  are 
mere  shells  now,  and  that  every  one  feared  to  be  himself." 

"  But  do  you  not  believe,"  said  I  more  seriously,  as  I  saw  how 


264  SOCIAL   LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


much  in  earnest  she  was,  "  that  the  greatest  thing  man  can  ever  do, 
is  to  govern  Passion  for  the  sake  of  Duty  ?" 

"  No,  a  greater  is  to  be  able  to  let  all  passions  free.  If  we  were 
harmonious,  there  would  be"  no  duty  and  no  work — all  wtmld  be 
pleasure." 

"  What,  still  on  your  electic  theory,"  said  a  friend  coming  up  ; 
"  our  practical  American  friend  will  hardly  understand  your  loose 
philosophy — I  must  explain  !" — The  explanation  the  reader  himself 
can  make. 

I  give  this,  though  the  rich  tones  and  language  which  fastened  it 
for  many  a  day  on  my  mind,  are  mostly  forgotten,  as  a  specimen  of 
that  philosophy,  which  has  crept  among  many  of  the  noblest  minds 
of  Europe ;  a  philosophy  which,  in  one  aspect,  I  can  heartily  recog- 
nize, but  which,  in  another,  would  make  Passion  and  Selfishness  the 
guides  of  the  soul. 

In  another  respect,  it  is  a  specimen  of  what  I  so  much  like  in 
European  society,  the  free,  unassailable  manner,  in  which  a  refined 
lady  will  speak  of  such  subjects.  That  universal  prudery,  which  so 
hampers  a  man  m  America  and  makes  him  ignore  half  the  facts  of 
life,  for  fear  of  treading  on  some  unknown  delicate  sensibility,  is 
never  seen  in  European  circles.  It  is  boldly  assumed,  what  every 
one  knows  to  be  the  fact,  that  both  sexes  are  equally  aware  of  a  great 
variety  of  things,  and  where  the  allusion  is  natural,  no  one  troubles 
himself  about  it.  %. 

There  were  in  our  company,  this  evening,  two  who  were  invited 
as  betrothed,  and  I  was  very  much  struck  with  their  manners 
towards  one  another.  I  think  in  an  Anglo-Saxon  company,  the 
fact  would  have  been  dropped  out  of  view  as  much  as  possible,  and 
certainly  the  slightest  expression  of  their  feelings  would  have  been 
intensely  dreaded  by  the  parties. 


NATURALNESS  263 


But  here  there  was  the  whole  evening,  ah  unconscious  beautiful 
expression  of  affection  and  confidence,  which  really,  I  think,  glad- 
dened the  whole  company. 

You  never  thought  of  watching  them  for  it,  hut  you  never 
thought  of  anything  else  with  them.  Love  seemed  to  speak  out  as 
naturally  from  their  tones  and  glance  and  manner,  as  friendly  feel- 
ing did  with  us.  Nothing  else  would  have  seemed  in  place.  It 
was  above  criticism, — above  surprise  even — though  if  any  other  of 
the  young  bachelors  were  like  myself,  they  retired  with  a  sufficiently 
vivid  appreciation  of  the  woes  of  bachelordom. 

I  often  have  observed  this  naturalness  of  expression  among  tbe 
Germans.  It  is  more  apparent  in  the  families,  of  course.  There 
are  not  in  all  my  memories,  pictures  so  warm  and  glowing,  as  of 
some  of  those  families  in  North  Germany  ;  families  where  the 
look  and  language  of  Affection  were  not  blurred  by  that  ever- 
lasting formalism  an-d  coldness  and  selfishness  which  hangs  over  our 
households ;  where  love  was  without  dissimulation,  neither  worn  for 
duty,  nor  worn  for  effect ;  where  mutual  kindness  and  self-sacrifico 
and  affection  had  so  long  been,  that  the  very  air  and  aspect  seemed 
to  welcome  and  sun  the  stranger. 

This  habit  of  expression  in  love  affairs,  appeal's  to  be  carried 
rather  too  far,  sometimes.  In  Hamburg,  it  seemed  to  me  that  every 
one  knew  when  any  lady  was  engaged  ;  and  %  broken  engagement, 
or  even  a  disappointment  in  love  was  as  fair  a  topic  for  conversation 
before  strangers,  and  as  generally  known  as  a  marriage.  The  parties 
must  evidently  talk  of  such  matters,  in  a  way  altogether  averse  to 
our  English  feeling. 

In  our  entertainment  on  this  occasion,  I  am  happy  to  say,  there 
was  no  card-playing.  Generally  this  is  the  universal  amusement  of 
*  12 


266  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


the  Berlin  circles,  especially  in  the  mercantile  and  in  the  aristocratic 
classes. 

I  sincerely  hope  this  amusement  will  never  become  as  general  in 
American,  as  it  is  now  m  European  society.  Why  any  company  of 
intelligent  and  social  people  could  ever  have  adopted  it,  seems  strange 
to  me.  It  is  a  complete  stoppage  on  the  pie asan test  enjoyment,  after 
all,  of  life  to  the  man  of 'sense — conversation.  Besides,  we  Ameri- 
cans should  never  be  able  to  play  for  counters  or  dimes.  We  should 
be  a  nation  of  gamblers,  inevitably. 

In  one  of  our  rooms  this  evening,  the  dance  went  on,  most  spirit 
edly.  Here,  as  everywhere  in  Germany,  the  dance  is  an  entirely 
different  affair,  from  what  it  is  with  us  at  home.  There  is  a  life  and 
spirit  in  it,  which  contrasts  most  pleasantly  with  the  solemn  and 
measured  ceremonials  in  our  parlors  in  America.  For  the  first  time, 
I  gained  the  true  idea  of  the  dance — a  musical,  joyous,  childlike 
expression  of  good  spirits. 

"  What !  you  dance  not  ?"  said  a  young  lady  to  me,  whom  I  knew 
well,  in  English,  as  I  stood  watching  the  merry  groups. 

"  No.  I  never  dance  !" 

"  Perhaps  you  are  from  the  Pietisten,  who  think  it  wrong  to 
dance  ?" 

"  Oh  no,  I  like  to  see  it  very  much  !" 

"  Are  your  country  people  so  strict  as  the  English  in  dancing  and 
Sabbath-keeping  !*' 

I  told  her,  I  thought  they  were  in  the  last,  but  that  a  great  many 
good  people  approved  of  dancing.  Still  we  did  not  have  that  dance 
among  us. 

"  So  ! "  *  said  she.     "  That  is  one  of  our  prettiest  dances — a 

*  This  So  /  is  the  Indeed  !  of  the  Germans,  which  they  always  transfer  to 
English,  when  'hey  speak  it 


AMUSEMENTS.  267 


Hungarian  dance.  See,  the  gentleman  pfeift — what  call  you  it  ? 
whistles ! " 

A  Hungarian  was  at  the  piano,  and  he  commenced  a  running 
accompaniment  by  whistling  the  air,  which  had  a  very  enlivening 
effect. 

"  They  say  your  people  never  play  ;  they  work  always  !  "  said  she 
again. 

"  Yes ;  it  is  too  true,"  I  answered  ;  "  we  make  our  play,  work." 

"  But  we  poor  Germans  have  nothing  else  than  play  to  do,"  said 
she  with  a  half-sigh.  "  How  should  I  like  to  see  America !  The 
Nature  must  be  grand  there.  But  then  you  Americans  are  so  prak- 
tisch,  (practical)." 

I  said,  I  did  not  think  we  all  were ;  and  asked  her,  if  she  hatf 
read  the  volume  of  Poems,  (Homes'  Poems)  which  I  had  lent 
her. 

"  Oh  yes  ! "  said  she,  "  I  am  so  much  obliged  !  There  is  no  other 
poetry  like  it.  It  is  utterly  characteristic — so  fresh  and  original — 
and  how  simple  !  remember  you  that  of  the  old  man  ?  " 

"And  the  mossy  marbles  rest 
On  the  lips  he  once  has  pressed 
In  their  bloom  !  " 

"  But  then  so  practical !  No  German  young  gentleman  would 
so  write  to  his  bride,  as  that  one  who  speaks  of  his  dollars  and  shil- 
lings ;  and  his  presents,  which  he  shall  not  again  have  ! " 

I  could  not  restrain  a  good  laugh.  The  poem  was  that  one  of 
Homes' — 

"  Of  my  cooings  and  my  billings 

I  do  not  now  complain  ; 
But  the  dollars  and  the  shillings 
They  will  never  come  again  1 " 


263  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


I  was  obliged  to  explain  to  her,  that  to  us  Americans,  that  was 
the  very  joke. 

"  Ach  Gott !  I  see.  You  are  a  strange  people  ! "  and  she  took 
my  arm  into  another  room. 

"  Is  it  true,"  she  asked,  as  we  sat  down  together,  "  that  your  la- 
dies in  America  sit  still  in  the  houses,  and  read,  and  cause  the  hus- 
bands and  the  servants  to  work  everything  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no ! "  I  answered ;  and  then  tried  to  explain  to  her  the 
position  of  woman  in  American  society. 

"  So !  It  is  very  different  here.  You  see  that  lady  across  the 
room,  very  stout,  with  ear-rings,  and  light  hair,  that  is  the  Frau  Pro- 
fessor and  Geheimrath  S ,  but  she  goes  down  every  morning 

and  cooks  in  the  kitchen  till  eleven  hour.  I  myself  divide  my  house- 
holding  with  my  sister ;  and  since  six  months?,  I  have  kept  the  ac- 
counts, and  I  go  to  the  markets,  and  look  the  cooking  every-day 
over,  and  brush  the  rooms  and  clarify  the  dishes.  The  next  six 
months  will  my  sister  take ;  and  oh !  will  I  not  be  glad  !  " 

I  assured  her,  she  would  have  an  easier  time  in  America  in  many 
circles.  Yes,  she  was  sure  she  would.  She  liked  America,  even 
much  better  than  England.  She  had  been  in  England,  and  it  did 
not  please  her. 

I  asked,  why  ?  "  Well,  I  was  so  afraid  all  the  time.  People  are 
so  much  more  strict  as  we.  I  did  not  dare  to  do  anything.  In 
Germany,  we  can  act  in  the  public  places  as  we  cBoose — and  no 
person  considers  us — then  we  are  not  so  stiff  and  cool  to  the  stran- 
gers. I  always  so  feared  to  be  laughed  in  England.  Then  the 
English  so  have  the  spleen  /  " 

I  did  not  agree  with  her  about  the  English  ;  and  asked  her,  what 
she  meant  by  the  spleen  1 

"  Why,  do  you  not  know  ?     The  low  spirit  which  in  their  bad 


ENGLISH    SPLEEN.  269 


weather  comes  on — the  oddities,  such  as  you  Americans  have  not, 
nor  we  Germans — the  spleen  !  Par  exemple,  see  you  the  Herr 
Englander  by  the  table,  the  tall,  fresh  young  man.  We  all  know 
him.  He  is  very  honorable  and  good,  and  is  much  gebildet — I  mean, 
educated.  A  true  friend  also,  but  so  odd — so,  as  we  in  German 
say,  unexplainable.  He  shuts  himself  in  his  room  up  for  many  days 
sometimes — then  he  becomes  very  social ;  then  again  he  studies  all 
the  night  and  sleeps  the  day  through.  In  the  bad  weather,  he  is 
so  gloomy,  that  we  pity  him  ;  but  if  we  say,  he  is  at  once  displeased. 
His  Frau  Wirth  says,  that  he  much  money  to  the  children  gives  ; 
but  that  he  drinks  tea  infinitely,  and  has  fourteen  pairs  of  boots  for 
winter !  This  is  the  spleen  !  You  understand,  Herr  B.  ? " 

I  expressed  myself  entirely  satisfied. 

I  inquired  soon  in  regard  to  the  fashions  in  the  room,  whether 
they  were  German,  most  of  them  ? 

"  Ach,  no  !  "  she  replied  ;  "  it  is  not  thought  so  noble  to  dress  in 
German  fashions.  We  borrow  the  French.  I  sometimes  think  we 
have  nothing  original,  unless  our  musique.  No  one  reads  a  German 
novel  now ;  and  in  the  South,  they  often  teach  the  children  never 
German,  only  French  and  English — "  "  Will  the  Herr  Americaner 
be  good  enough  to  take  the  lady  out  to  supper,"  said  the  hostess, 
interrupting  us. 

"  Very  lucky  ! "  whispered  my  companion,  as  we  walked  into  the 
supper  room,  "  for  otherwise,  we  should  have  sat  at  the  lower  end 
among  the  children  and  stupids." 

The  soup  was  passed  around,  while  I  helped  my  lady  to  tea  fla- 
vored with  vanilla,  with  a  few  drops  of  rum. 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  I,  "  you  would  utterly  shock  any  of  our 
tea  drinkers  by  such  a  mixture  as  that  ?  " 

"  I  know  it  is  not  English,"  she  answered.     "  You  will  find  it 


270  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


through  all  Germany.  We  think  the  tea  will  not  awaken  us  at 
night,  if  we  sprinkle  in  rum." 

"Is  it  so,"  said  she  again,  after  a  little  while,  '•  that  you  in  Ame- 
rica have  those  heavy  English  breakfasts  with  meat  ?  How  can 
you  ?  It  is  so  gross  !  " 

I  defended  the  habit  as  well  as  I  could ;  ai  the  same  time,  making 
an  insidious  attack  on  some  of  the  standard  German  dishes,  espe- 
cially the  Sauerkraut.  She  held  up  her  hands  in  a  comic  astonish- 
ment, "  Mein  Gott !  Not  to  like  Sauerkraut  ?  Where  have  you 
educated  ? " 

The  conversation  of  the  table  now  began  to  turn  towards  me.  A 
gentleman  near,  asked  me  in  regard  to  my  plans  of  travelling  in 
Hungary  in  the  summer.  I  explained  them.  He  said,  he  would 
strongly  dissuade  me.  Hungary  was  a  very  uninteresting  country — 
half  barbarous.  There  was  nothing  there  to  see.  No  works  of 
art — no  theatres — no  good  hotels  or  roads.  The  country  had  scarce 
ever  been  heard  of  till  this  late  red  republican  outbreak.  "  It  was 
a  wild,  lawless  insurrection,  and  the  land  has  not  yet  recovered 
from  it." 

As  the  Hungarian  was  gone,  I  took  up  the  defence  of  poor  Hun- 
gary. "  I  was  not  sure  of  the  facts,"  I  said,  "  but  I  had  a  different 
impression  of  the  struggle."  I  commenced  in  German,  and  then, 
waxing  warm,  left  it  for  English.  I  described  the  Commencement 
of  that  heroic  struggle — pictured  the  old  Constitution — told  ray 
opponent,  that  he  and  his  countrymen  were  not  prepared  to  appre- 
ciate a  Constitutional  struggle — and  in  my  ardor,  from  the  deep 
stillness  at  the  table,  began  to  fear  I  had  offended  the  political  pre- 
judices of  some ;  when  I  was  interrupted,  as  I  stopped  for  breath, 
by  "  Vortrefflich  !"  (excellent !)  "  the  vowels  have  even  a  clearer  sound 
than  ours,  and  the  consonants  are  smoother.  A  strong  language 


TALK    UPON    SLAVERY.  271 


but  not  so  clear,  not  so  many  small  words  in  speaking,  as  German  !" 
And  I  found,  that  my  English,  much  more  than  my  ideas,  had  been 
listened  to,  so  I  turned  again  to  German  ;  and  it  is  a  curious  fact, 
that  the  speaking  a  foreign  language  varies  as  much,  at  different 
times,  and  depends  as  much  on  moods,  as  any  extempore  speaking. 
When  under  a  strong  flow  of  excitement,  I  could  always  speak  good 
German. 

I  spoke  now  in  words  which  my  opponent  could  not  help  attend- 
ing to,  of  the  wrongs  of  that  unhappy  land,  of  its  noble  and  rational 
struggles  for  freedom,  of  the  crushing  attacks  of  Russia,  and  of  the 
Austrian  tyranny,  of  whose  abuses  we  heard  each  day  in  the 
papers. 

I  could  not  avoid,  as  I  was  upon  it,  and  as  I  knew  my  audience 
well,  speaking  sadly  also  of  the  oppression  over  the  dear  old  Ger- 
man Fatherland.  I  alluded  to  their  strict  police  laws  ;  to  the  open 
acts  of  injustice  from  the  authorities  everywhere,  and  mentioned 
that  well  known  measure  of  injustice  by  which,  lately,  liberal  edi- 
tors had  been  imprisoned  and  banished.  I  said  that  the  times 
seemed  dark  in  the  Old  World — and  that  we  in  the  New  looked 
with  pity  over  to  all  this,  and  longed  to  right  it  again.  I  had  spoken 
with  very  considerable  feeling  and  the  company  had  listened  intently ; 
but  here  I  was  interrupted  by  a  gentleman  whom  I  knew  to  be 
somewhat  more  acquainted  with  America,  than  the  others,  'the 
words  I  can  only  imperfectly  give,  but  the  rebuke  will  sever  leave 
me. 

"  Sir,"  said  he,  very  earnestly,  "  we  admit  that  the  times  look  dark 
here  in  Europe,  and  that  there  is  much  wrong  here,  but  we  do  not 
admit  the  right  of  your  country  to  rebuke  it.  There  is  a  system 
now  with  you,  worse  than  anything  which  we  know,  of  tyranny — 
your  Slavery.  It  is  a  disgrace  and  a  blot  on  your  free  government 


272  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


and  on  a  Christian  state.  We  have  nothing  in  Russia  or  Hungary 
which  is  so  degrading,  and  we  have  nothing  which  so  crushes  the 
mind.  And  more  than  this,  we  hear  now  of  a  law,  just  passed  by 
your  National  Assembly,  which  would  disgrace  the  .cruel  code  of 
the  Czar.  We  hear  of  free  men  and-  women,  hunted  like  dogs  over 
your  mountains,  and  sent  back,  without  trial,  to  a  bondage,  worse 
than  our  serfs  have  ever  known.  We  here  in  Europe  have  many 
excuses  in  ancient  evils  and  deep-laid  prejudices,  but  you  the  young, 
free  people,  in  this  age,  to  be  passing  again,  afresh,  such  measures 
of  unmitigated  wrong  and  oppression  !  We  have  not  been  able  to 
understand  it." 

I  must  say  that  the  blood  tingled  to  my  cheeks  with  shame  as  he 
spoke. 

I  could  say  nothing  in  defence.  I  told  him  party-movements 
had  carried  this  act  through,  which  I  could  not  understand.  But, 
as  to  the  existence  of  Slavery,  he,  like  all  foreigners,  labored  under 
a  great  mistake.  That  I,  that  my  countrymen  at  the  North,  had 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  it.  We  detested  it.  We  condemned 
it.  But  we,  in  the  free  States,  could  not  reach  it ;  we  were  not  re- 
sponsible for  it.  And  even  if  we  were,  it  was  a  momentous  and 
very  .  difficult  question,  how  it  was  to  be  done  away.  Sudden 
and  complete  emancipation  would  often  be  only  a  curse  to  the  slave. 
I  then  tried  to  unfold  our  Constitutional  system,  the  peculiar  inde- 
pendence of  our  several  States. 

They  understood  easily,  and  admitted  there  'were  many  more 
difficulties,  than  they  had  supposed.  Perhaps,  unfortunately,  there 
is  nothing  that  a  German  understands  quicker,  than  the  evils  of  a 
Confederacy,  where  the  members  have  their  independent  rights. 

The  company  at  length  rose  from  the  table.  "  You  have  well 
your  Fatherland  defended,"  s.iid  my  companion,  as  she  took  my 


"GUTE    NACHT!"  273 


arm  into  the  other  room,  "but  perhaps  you  will  think  once  more, 
before  you  speak  so  hard  into  German  tyrannei,  again  !  And  it  is 
posseeble,  you  may  even  sometime  find  good  in  the  Sauerkraut  ! 
Now  let  us  shake  hands,  T  like  so  your  English  custom,  and  you  have 
not  yet  learnt  the  hand  to  kiss !  Gute  Nacht  /" 


12* 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

BERLIN    FETES NEWS. 

Feb.  11, 1851. 

WITHIN  the  last  month  the  city  has  been  enlivened  by  several 
brilliant/efes.  First,  in  January,  came  the  festival  commemorating 
the  origin  of  Prussia,  as  a  kingdom — the  150th  anniversary,  and 
therefore  especially  celebrated.  Now,  there  is  a  grand  levee,  which 
makes  the  rusty  old  palace  gay  again,  in  honor  of  the  king's  taking 
up  his  residence  in  the  city,  for  since  1848,  he  has  not  deemed  his 
Hebe  Berlin  quite  safe  enough  for  a  residence,  and  has  held  his 
court  in  Charlottenburg,  about  five  miles  distant. 

It  is  the  first  levee  which  has  been  held  in  the  Palace  since  the 
Revolution  of  '48 ;  and  report  says,  it  is  the  first  time  the  queen 
has  entered  the  building,  since  that  terrible  day  when  the  fate  of 
Marie  Antoinette  hung  over  her  ;  and  when  the  shouts  of  the  pop- 
ulace called  her  out  on  the  balcony,  to  look  at  the  ghastly  corpses, 
as  they  were  carried  into  the  Palace-court,  of  those  who  had  died 
fighting  against  the  throne.  A  friend  of  mine,  who  was  in  front  of 
the  Palace  the  day  after  this,  says  it  was  a  humiliating  sight  to 
witness  the  forced  complaisance  of  the  king  with  the  crowd,  shaking 
hands  with  the  Blouses  and  the  ragamuffins  of  Berlin ;  and  his  ser- 
vants emptying  the  palace  cellars  to  supply  them  with  wines  and 
delicacies.  Of  course,  all  this  is  forgotten  now.  Such  an  occasion 


LIVERIES 


is  almost  the  only  one  in  the  year  which  calls  out  the  country  gen- 
try, and  we  have  a  display  of  liveries,  the  most  unique.  Many  of 
these  worthy  gentlemen  have  only  means  to  appear  once  at  court, 
and  the  old  carriages  and  dresses  are  carefully  preserved  for  this  op- 
portunity. 

There  are  all  imaginable  colors  of  livery,  and  powdered  and  ruf- 
fled coachmen  in  the  style  of  Louis  XLV's  time,  with  the  ponderous 
vehicle  and  outriders,  side  by  side  with  the  graceful  carriage  and 
simple  footmen  of  the  modern  court-beau.  They  are  pouring  on 
in  a  continuous  line  to  the  castle  gates,  while  the  mounted  police 
are  keeping  the  way  clear  amid  the  crowd.  The  people  are  having 
great  enjoyment  in  cracking  jokes  at  this  display  of  the  thread-bare 
uobility. 

The  fest  in  January,  though  not  more  showily  arranged,  was  to 
rae  much  more  interesting.  It  is  difficult  to  realize  that  this  power- 
ful kingdom  has  only  been  in  existence  150  years  ;  and  that  its 
brilliant  history  dates  almost  within  the  memory  of  the  living. 

The  name  too,  of  Prussia,  is  taken  from  one  of  the  rudest  and 
poorest  provinces  in  Europe. 

In  1417,  Frederick,  of  the  family  of  Hohen  Zollernof  the  Bur- 
grave  of  Nuremburg,  bought  from  the  German  Emperor,  the  pro- 
vince, which  now  constitutes  the  centre  of  Prussia — Brandenburg. 
To  his  descendants  in  1618,  was  conveyed  by  marriage  the  "  Duchy 
of  Prussia,"  a  fief  of  Poland,  and  a  desolate  province  which  had 
been  won  and  held  by  an  Order  of  Teutonic  Knights.  The  title 
of  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  was  merged  into  that  of  Duke  of  Prus- 
sia ;  but  it  was  not  till  after  the  splendid  victories  of  Frederick 
William  the  Great,  and  the  spoils  gained  in  the  Peace  of  Westpha- 
lia, that  Prussia  was  fully  recognized  as  an  independent  state.  It 
was  at  length  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  kingdom  on  the  18th  January 


278  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


1701,  by  Frederick  II  crowning  himself  as  King  of  Prussia.  It 
needed,  however,  sixty  years  before  the  Republic  of  Poland,  would 
deign  to  acknowledge  its  old  fief,  as  a  kingdom. 

From  the  peace  of  Westphalia,  the  history  of  Prussia  has  been  a 
course  of  continued  and  skillful  acquistion.  Marriage,  negotiation,  war 
and  peace,  defeat  and  victory,  have  all  alike  added  to  its  territory. 
What  it  has  not  openly  plundered,  it  has  gained  by  cunning  bargain 
or  by  fortunate  accident.  The  Saxon  provinces,  the  Pommeranian, 
the  Rhenish,  the  Westphalian,  have  all  been  won  in  these  modes, 
and  the  history  of  the  acquisition  of  Prussian  Poland  is  still  fresh. 
Like  many  of  the  German  States.  Prussia  is  a  disjointed  country ;  and 
were  one  to  judge  only  from  present  appearances,  it  would  be  natural 
to  predict  that  another  half-century  anniversary  would  not  be  cele- 
brated by  the  Prussian  kingdom.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Rhenish 
provinces,  with  their  warm  southern  blood,  their  popular  sympathies, 
their  French  customs  and  laws,  are  as  diverse  as  possible  from  the 
loyal  and  aristocratic  population  of  Brandenburg,  or  the  'sturdy  and 
often  chivalric  farmers  of  Prussia,  bred  up  only  to  the  old  German 
ideas.  And  again,  the  proud  Polish  gentry  of  Posen,  the  mechanics 
of  Silesia,  and  the  easy  intellectual  Saxons,  form  other  as  irrecon- 
cileable  elements  in  the  Prussian  State.  Free  institutions  would, 
we  are  persuaded,  unite  even  these  opposing  populations.  But  with 
the  present  system  of  a  centralized  monarchy,  we  beMfivc  that  parts 
of  Prussia — especially  the  provinces  on  the  Rhine — will  become 
more  and  more  alienated,  and  that  any  well-sustained  attempt  on 
the  side  of  France  to  regain  them,  would,  in  a  few  years,  meo(  there 
•with  a  welcome  reception. 


FAMINE.  277 


Accounts  come  each  day,  in  the  papers,  of  the  sad  condition  of 
one  province  of  the  kingdom,  Silesia — the  Ireland  of  Prussia.  No 
description  of  Prussia  or  of  recent  Prussian  administration,  would  be 
complete,  without  some  mention  of  the  mournful  history  of  this 
district. 

It  will  be  noticed  on  the  map,  that  there  is  one  point  of  Prussia 
protruding  down  between  Poland  and  Austrian  Silesia,  to  the  south- 
east of  Breslau ;  this  forms  the  province  of  Upper  Silesia. 

The  province,  it  appears,  is  a  barren  country,  inhabited  mostly  by 
weavers  or  small  farmers,  professing  the  Catholic  faith,  and  kept  by 
their  priests  in  a  state  of  great  superstition  and  ignorance.  In  1847, 
their  potato  crop,  on  which  they  almost  entirely  depended,  failed ; 
and  their  other  harvests,  which  had  been  gradually  growing  worse, 
this  year  were  poorer  than  ever.  They  lived  much  during  the  au- 
tumn on  roots  and  poor  vegetables,  and  meal  mingled  with  chalk  or 
stone.  The  winter  set  in  with  an  unexampled  severity — and  the 
year  1848  opened  on  a  scene  of  suffering  and  destitution  in  Upper 
Silesia,  such  as  the  word  has  seldom  witnessed.  Men  wandered  hag- 
gard and  starving  in  the  streets,  grasping  food  where  they  could 
find  it.  Corpses  lay  unburied  on  the  way-sides.  Houses  were 
filled  with  the  dead,  and  no  one  knew  of  it.  And  the  officers  of  tha 
government,  who  forced  open  the  doors,  not  unfrequently  found  the 
famishing  wife  in  the  arms  of  the  husband  who  had  been  dead  per- 
haps for  days.  We  will  not  go  further  into  the  details.  All  that 
is  disgusting,  heart-sickening  in  human  misery,  was  experienced  by 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  in  this  Prussian  province.  The 
Catholic  clergy  labored  incessantly  among  the  sufferers,  and  the 


278  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GEK.*ANY. 


"  Sisters  of  Chanty"  were  known,  not  seldom,  to  have  slept  in  the 
snow,  while  going  about  to  help  the  starving.  But  all  aid  was  of 
no  avail.  As  the  spring  came  on,  to  the  horrors  of  famine,  were 
added  the  raging  of  a  fearful  pestilence,  caused  by  the  unburied 
dead,  and  the  foul  nourishment  on  which  the  inhabitants  had  lived. 
The  priest  was  swept  away  with  the  sick  whom  he  would  relieve. 
And  even  the  immense  establishments  for  feeding  the  people,  erected 
by  the  Catholic  clergy,  were  of  little  use.  The  whole  population 
were  so  weakened  and  hopeless,  that  the  highest  wages  could  not 
induce  them  to  labor,  and  they  could  hardly  make  the  necessary 
exertion  to  receive  the  food  which  wsig  offered  them.  The  Govern- 
ment, for  a  long  time,  paid  no  attention  to  the  complaints  from  the 
province ;  and  it  was  only,  till  in  some  districts  one-fifth,  and  in 
others,  nearly  a  half  of  the  population,  had  perished,  that  it  deigned 
to  contribute  its  aid. 

The  causes  of  these  terrible  calamities  are  to  be  sought,  as  in  the 
so  strangely  similar  Irish  sufferings,  in  many  sources.  Dispropor- 
tionate taxation,  division  of  the  land  into  great  estates,  absenteeism 
of  the  owners,  a  bad  government  and  corrupted  religion,  and  finally, 
all  these  working  on  the  character  of  the  people,  till  they  themselves 
became  so  lazy  and  inefficient,  that  no  good  government  could  save 
them.  These,  with  sudden  events  in  the  natural  world,  may  ac- 
count for  that  terrible  famine  and  pestilence  in  Upper  Silesia.  As  I 
said,  the  Romanist  clergy  have  been  working  nobly  there.  No  sect 
in  Prussia  was  found  to  show  such  self-sacrifice,  such  heroism,  amid 
these  scenes  of  pestilence  and  death,  as  these  Catholics  showed. 

fferr  .Wichern,  whom  I  mentioned  in  Hamburg  as  leading  the 
operations  of  the  "  Innere  Mission"  has  carried  his  indefatigable 
efforts  even  to  this  distant  province.  And  strict  Protestant  though 
lie  be,  the  Catholic  clergy  have  joined  with  him,  and  in  the  common 


NEWSPAPERS.  279 


society  of  the  "Mission,"  they  are  working  together  for  this  wretched 
province ;  their  especial  design  now  is,  to  establish  orphan  asylums, 
as  there  are  said  to  be  some  ten  thousand  orphans  in  that  country. 
The  bishop  has  even  consented  to  send  some  of  his  young  clergy  to 
Wichern's  Rauhehaus  in  Hamburg,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  his 
system  in  the  management  of  such  institutions. 


The  news  comes  to  us  now,  (February,  1851,)  of  a  protest  of 
France  against  Austria  entering  the  German  Confederacy  with  all 
her  provinces.  A  very  natural  step — as  any  such  successful  move- 
ment on  the  part  of  Austria,  secures  the  whole  German  confederated 
army  in  her  favor — and  completely  frees  her  from  all  present  ap- 
prehension for  Hungary  or  Italy  or  any  of  her  disaffected  states — 
inasmuch  as  a  revolt  in  them  would  be  a  revolt  against  the  Union 
of  forty  millions  of  Germans.  France  has  no  wish  to  see  Austria 
thus  strengthened. 

A  much  more  interesting  piece  of  news  to  me  is  the  appearance 
of  Webster's  letter  to  Hiilsernann,  in  full,  in  the  Constitutionelle 
Zeitung  (Constitutional  Gazette)  of  Berlin.  It  is  attracting  great 
attention,  and  will  be  read  in  every  coffee-house  of  North  Germany. 

There  is  no  greater  infliction  upon  a  newspaper-loving  American, 
than  the  German  press.  No  one  understands,  apparently,  how  to 
publish  or  how  to  edit  a  newspaper  in  Germany.  The  dailies  in 
the  largest  cities  are  not  one-third  the  stee  of  our  common  country 
papers.  There  is  seldom  any  good  foreign  correspondence,  or  for- 
eign news,  little  important  telegraphing,  few  connections  with  dis- 
tant quarters,  and  no  great  talent  in  editorials.  The  advertising  is 
carried  on  in  a  separate  sheet  often,  from  the  reading  sheet,  and  the 
great  object  of  advertising  lost.  What  news  these  journals  contain, 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


KS  so  badly  arranged  and  given  out,  that  I  have  frequently  gained  a 
more  distinct  idea  from  articles  in  the  London  Times  or  Daily  News, 
of  events  transpiring  here,  than  I  have  from  daily  reading  of  half  a 
dozen  local  papers.  Except  in  the  large  cities,  families  seldom  take 
newspapers ;  they  are  read  in  coffee-houses  or  club-rooms.  The  best 
journal,  in  my  opinion,  of  Germany,  is  the  Cologne  Gazette  (Kol- 
nische  Zeituny) — a  bold,  spirited,  free-spoken  journal,  which  has 
been  prosecuted  twice  this  winter  by  the  Prussian  Government.  It 
represents  the  liberal  constitutional  feeling  of  South  Germany.  The 
correspondence  from  abroad,  and  the  arrangement  of  news,  seems  to 
me  much  superior  to  that  of  the  other  German  journals.  In  Berlin, 
the  organ  of  the  Ministry  now  is  the  "German  Reform"  (Deutsche 
Reform) — a  journal  of  fair  ability,  and  of  course,  strongly  conserva- 
tive. The  National  Zeitung  is  the  democratic  paper — sometimes 
permitted  to  speak  a  bold  word ;  the  Constitutionelle  Zeitung  is 
the  leading  constitutional  paper  of  Prussia.  This  has  occasionally 
articles  of  much  spirit,  but  is  usually  too  heavy.  It  takes  the  mid- 
dle ground  now  between  the  Democratic  and  Governmental  party, 
and  has  been  strongly  for  war.  There  is  also  a  German  Punch  in  Ber- 
lin (Kladderadatsch),  whose  principal  characteristic,  is  its  unbounded 
impudence. 

In  Hamburg,  the  Nachrichten  has  a  good  circulation,  though  by 
no  means  remarkable  for  genius.  In  Southern  and  Austrian  Ger- 
many the  Allgemeine  Zeitung  (Universal  Gazette)  of  Augsburg, 
has  long  had  the  greatest  influence.  This  has  been  a  very  able 
journal,  and  for  statistical  and  scientific  articles,  scarcely  surpassed 
in  Europe.  Now,  however,  it  is  conducted  in  deadly  fear  of  the 
Austrian  or  German  police,  and  has  lost  much  of  its  life. 

The  best  paper  of  Vienna  is  not  the  most  liberal — the  Lloyd's. 
The  editors  write  under  the  eyes  of  that  accursed  detective  police. 


THE   TIMES.  281 


and  of  course,  can  say  little  to  any  purpose.  They  have  been  per- 
mitted to  speak  in  financial  matters,  and  there  they  have  uttered 
new  and  bold  truths. 

American  papers  are  seldom  seen  in  Germany.  The  Times,  of 
England,  and  that  most  non-committal  and  prudential  journal,  the 
Galigriani  of  Paris,  are  everywhere.  What  American  will  ever 
forget  their  really  home-like  look  in  the  German  cafes  ?  How  often 
wearied  by  the  strange  streets  outside,  or  by  the  foreign  gossip 
within,  have  I  settled  myself  down  over  their  columns,  as  if  for  a 
chat  with  a  countryman,  just  from  home  ! 

The  influence  of  the  Times  throughout  Europe,  is  wonderful,  and 
one  of  its  strong,  practical,  carefully-prepared  "  leaders"  makes  almost 
as  strong  a  sensation  in  Germany  as  it  does  in  London.  The  Times 
represents  the  great  common  sense  of  England  more  than  any  other 
paper ;  and  it  is  these  practical  articles  of  it,  penetrating  into  the 
bombast  and  idealizing  which  cover  these  German  affairs,  that  give 
it  such  an  influence — or  at  least  make  it  so  feared  by  the  leaders  of 
the  parties. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

A    VISIT    TO    THE    CHAMBERS. 

"  WHAT  do  yai  say  to  making  a  call  upon  our  Prussian  Cham- 
bers ? "  said  a  friend  to  me  one  morning,  as  we  were  chatting  in  my 
room  over  the  morning  coffee.  "  An  acquaintance  of  mine,  one  of 
the  members,  has  offered  me  a  ticket,  and  we  can  get  it  as  we  go 
along." 

I  assured  him,  I  should  like  nothing  better  ;  and  we  at  once  sal- 
lied out,  to  be  in  time  for  a  good  seat. 

My  companion  was  a  young  merchant  of  some  property,  and  an 
ardent,  almost  violent  Democrat.  We  usually  had  a  great  deal  of 
discussion  together — agreeing  very  well  in  the  main  principles,  but 
differing  on  detail ;  I  finding  him  somewhat  ultra  and  unpractical, 
and  he  me  a  little  tainted  with  the  "  verdammte  Reaction?  as  they 
call  the  conservative  tendencies. 

"  There  are  some  of  those  accursed  soldiers  again ! "  said  he,  as 
we  came  upon  a  company  drilling  in  the  fine  avejiue  "  under  the 
Lindens  ;''  "  and  the  old  '  Haudegen'  (Slasher)  at  the  head,  I  be- 
lieve. Think  of  him  for  our  next  King  !  " 

It  was  the  Prince  of  Prussia,  the  King's  brother,  a  heavy-looking, 
stout  soldier,  who  was  cantering  up  and  down  the  line  with  a  few 
staff-officers. 


A    "RED."  283 


"  Tell  me,"  said  I ;  "  these  soldiers  are  quartered  on  you,  are  they 
not,  whether  you  will  or  no  ?  " 

"Yes,"  he  replied,  "  there  were  two  of  them  put  upon  me  last 
month  ;  and  I  only  got  rid  of  them  by  paying  their  Kosten  else- 
where. I  hope  as  a  citizen  of  Prussia,  I  should  always  be  willing  to 
support  our  brave  army,  if  they  were  fighting  for  the  people  or 
the  country.  But  now  I  know,  they  are  nothing  but  tools  of  the 
King  ! " 

"  I  hear,"  said  I,  as  we  passed  the  position  of  the  staff,  "  very  fa- 
vorable accounts  of  the  Prince's  son.  Those  who  know  him  well, 
tell  me  he  is  far  superior  to  his  old  father.  A  very  honest  and 
good-hearted  young  man,  with  high  purposes  to  benefit  the  nation, 
they  say.  He  may  make  you  a  good  King  !  " 

"  No ;  it  is  impossible,"  said  he,  "  the  whole  kith  and  kin  are  ut- 
terly unreliable.  You  cannot  trust  them  ;  and  the  best  thing  for 
Germany  would  be  to  take  off  the  heads  of  the  whole  brood ! " 

I  laughed  at  his  excitement ;  and  asked  whether  he  would  not,  at 
least,  acknowledge  that  the  present  king  and  his  nephew,  (the  heir 
presumptive)  were  religious  men  ;  and  were  trying  to  spread  abroad 
religious  influence. 

"  No  ; "  he  answered,  "  it  is  not  so.  You  mustn't  get  your  views 
from  those  Pietisten.  All  the  religion  they  care  about,  is  to  have 
a  State  Church.  See  what  the  old  King  did — trying  to  make  us 
religious  and  belong  to  his  church  with  the  bayonet.  And  then, 
take  this  reign.  That  old  hypocritical  tyrant,  Eichhorn,  (one  of  the 
State  ministers)  tried  for  years  to  choke  all  thought-freedom — 
and  would  not  even  appoint  a  school-teacher,  unless  he  was  an 
orthodox !  The  King  has  broken  every  promise  he  ever  made 
to  our  people.  It  was  not  till  four  years  ago,  that  we  had  the  first 
shadow  of  a  Constitution,  though  his  father  promised  it,  in  1815  ; 


284  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


and  now  our  "  allcrgnadiste?  (most  all  gracious)  breaks  it  every- 
day. His  piety  is  to  pay  preachers  to  delude  the  people !" 

"  What ! "  said  I,  "  do  you  think  all  the  preachers  hypocrites 
too  ? " 

"  Oh  no ;  not  that.  But  they  are  paid  by  the  King,  and  are 
.naturally  influenced  by  him  ;  and  they  preach  to  please  him.  Who 
ever  heard  a  word  from  them  against  tyranny,  or  for  the  oppressed, 
or  for  the  victims  all  through  Germany  to  these  execrable  princes  ? 
When  did  they  ever  speak  for  poor  Cassel,  or  Holstein  ?  They  talk 
often  enough  of  the  '  Obrigkeiten?  (the  authorities)  and  the  godless 
Socialism — and  these  impious  attacks  on  religion  and  government ; 
but  who  ever  heard  a  free  word  from  them  ?  I  don't  believe  in  such 
religion  !  /  would  rather  have  Infidelity  !  We  must  sweep  away 
kings  and  preachers,  before  we  can  be  free  ! " 

I  told  him,  I  agreed  with  him  as  to  the  public  teachings  of  these 
men,  though  I  liked  them  personally,  and  thought  them  very  self- 
denying  and  good  men.  "  It  all  comes,"  said  I,  "  from  your  State 
Church.  You  must  have  a  free  voluntary  church ;  and  then  you 
won't  confuse  religion,  and  the  abuses  of  government  together ! " 

"  But  look  !  "  said  I  again,  as  we  passed  the  bridge  of  the  canal, 
"  there's  a  specimen  of  your  German  practicality — just  like  what 
you  are  doing  in  Constitutions — six  men  doing  the  work  of  one,  and 
all  hindering  one  another ! "  The  six  men  were  engaged  with  poles 
and  ropes,  in  pulling  open  the  gates  of  the  lock,  a  work  which  one 
Yankee  would  easily,  do  with  a  lever.  «^ 

He  laughed,  and  admitted  it ;  and  we  turned  soon  into  the  alley 
of  the  post-office,  as  it  was  hardly  time  for  going  to  the  Chambers. 
"  You  send  passengers  as  well  as  letters  by  post  ?  "  said  I,  as  we  en- 
tered the  court-yard,  full  of  coaches,  just  ready  for  starting. 


AN    INCIDENT.  '  285 

"  Certainly.  Everything — mail-coaches,  rail-roads,  telegraphs,  are 
government  property  here." 

As  we  walked  down  the  narrow  street  from  the  Post-office  to- 
wards the  large  bridge,  my  companion  showed  me  with  ardor  the 
different  points,  wh,ere  the  people  had  forced  the  soldiers  back  in  the 
Revolution  of  '48,  till  they  retreated  across  the  bridge  to  tho 
castle. 

"  You  see  that  corner  house  there  ! "  said  he.  "  Our  people  did 
almost  the  only  violent  thing,  which  was  done  in  those  days,  on  that 
building.  There  was  a  wretch  of  an  officer  lived  there,  who  shel- 
tered some  of  the  soldiers  as  they  hurried  down  the  street,  and  let 
them  fire  on  the  crowd  from  the  windows.  When  we  reached  there, 
the  fellows  were  on  his  story  in  a  moment — the  doors  broken 
through — and  out  came  through  the  windows  the  fine  mirrors,  the 
pictures,  the  chairs,  every  possible  article ;  and  a  great  heap  was 
made  for  a  bonfire  below.  They  were  beginning  at  one  room, 
when  the  servant-maid  rushed  in,  and  said  it  was  hers ;  and  not  one 
article  was  touched  !  I  had  gone  off  at  a  little  distance  at  the  time, 
but  I  remember  now  of  seeing  one  poor  fellow  tumbled  into  the 
heap  ;  and  then  beaten  and  flogged  by  the  crowd,  with  everything 
they  could  lay  their  hands  on.  It  seems,  he  was  one  of  their  own 
number,  who  was  caught  thieving  !  " 

We  now  made  our  way  to  the  "  Chambers,"  and  after  presenting 
our  tickets,  took  a  good  seat,  near  the  diplomatic  benches,  in  the 
gallery.  The  House  would  not  meet  for  some  half-hour  yet,  and 
we  had  time  enough  to  look  about.  The  appearance  of  the  build- 
ing outside  and  in,  was  not  at  all  remarkable.  The  hall,  where  wo 
were,  was  of  oblong  shape,  with  various  galleries,  a  curtained  box 
for  the  royal  family,  a  slight  desk  and  stage  for  the  speaker,  and 
seats  for  three  or  four  hundred  members.  There  was  no  verv  rich 


286  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY". 


furniture,  yet  all  neat  and  cheerful,  and  well-kept,  and  altogether,  a 
"much  more  comfortable  hall  of  legislation,  than  the  English  Hall 
for  the  Commons,  which  I  visited  last  year. 

"  There's  Vincke  !  Do  you  see  him  ?"  said  my  companion,  "  the 
stout  man  in  a  snuff-colored  frock-coat,  with  a  rather  important  air» 
here  in  front !  He's  the  leader  of  the  opposition  now,  was  one  of 
the  old  Constitutionalists.  You  saw  his  speech  the  other  day,  the 
best  we  have  had  this  session —  tremendous  cuts  on  Manteuffel !" 

"  And  there  comes  der  Teufcl  selbst,  (the  devil  himself !)"  It 
•was  the  Prime  Minister,  Manteu/el,  who  entered  by  a  side  door, 
followed  by  a  page,  bearing  his  port-folio.  He  took  his  seat  on  a 
little  raised  platform,  behind  a  long  desk — the  ministerial  benches — 
and  quietly  received  the  members  who  came  up  to  pay  their 
respects.  A  little  and  insignificant  man  he  is,  except  in  the  outline 
of  his  head,  which  shows  decided  intellectual  power.  His  face  has  an 
expression  of  much  shrewdness.  This  man  guides  now  the  destinies 
of  Prussia,  and  probably  will  for  years  to  come.  He  has  ousted  the 
military  Radowitz,  has  adopted  the  pacific  and  cringing  policy — and 
avoiding  war,  he  has  managed,  even  while  yielding  to  Austria,  to 
strengthen  the  material  interests  of  Prussia.  Whether  all  the  ter- 
giversations of  his  administration  are  to  be  laid  to  him,  is  doubt- 
ful. He  has  a  difficult  master — and  it  must  need  great  skill  to 
adapt  his  policy  to  the  ever-changing  tendencies  of  Frederick  Wil- 
liam. 

Among  the  crowd,  I  was  pointed  out  Beckerath,  Camphausen, 
Count  Schwerin,  Prof.  Tellkampf,  and  many  other  eminent  members 
of  the  Liberal  party. 

PROF.  TELLKAMFF  is  well  known  in  America.  He  has  distin- 
guished himself  this  winter,  in  all  constitut'onal  discussions  and  de- 


PRUSSIAN  COMMONS.  287 


bates  on  points  of  order,  by  his  minute  knowledge.  His  acquaint- 
ance with  the  American  and  English  Constitutions  is  very  exact,  and 
stands  him  in  good  stead. 

The  house  was  at  length  called  to  order,  and  the  members  took 
their  seats  ;  those  on  the  right  being  occupied  by  the  friends  of  the 
ministry  and  those-  on  the  left,  by  the  opposition.  The  members  do 
not  wear  their  hats  like  the  members  of  the  "English  Parliament; 
and  in  general  have  not  so  independent  and  careless  an  aspect,  but 
seem  more  like  a  company  of  gentlemanly  well-fed  office-holders,  as 
in  fact,  most  of  them  are. 

The  discussion  opened  on  the  late  Press-ordinance,  enacted,  as  I 
have  before  explained,  by  the  ministry  in  an  illegal  manner,  while 
the  Chambers  were  not  in  session,  and  completely  cutting  off  in  its 
workings,  liberty  of  the  press. 

The  discussion  was  rather  spirited,  though  in  general,  the  speak- 
ing was  awkward  and  uneasy.  VON  VINCKE  made  a  short  speech 
which  was  listened  to  with  marked  attention.  He  has  all  the  ease 
and  force  of  our  best  orators,  and  must  be  a  very  effective  speaker, 
I  should  think,  when  thoroughly  aroused. 

The  Ministerial  party  defended  the  Ordinance  as  a  temporary 
measure,  and  made  the  usual  objections  to  the  license  of  the  press. 
The  Opposition  attacked  it,  especially  on  the  ground  of  its  arbitrary 
character,  and  defended  free  speech,  and  urged  the  old  promises 
and  the  guarantees  of  the  Constitution  for  Freedom  of  the  Press. 

There  was  nothing  new  to  an  American  in  the  discussion,  except 
the  fact  that  any  members  of  a  Constitutional  Parliament  could  be 
found,  to  defend  a  measure,  so  obviously  unjust  and  arbitrary. 

This  is  the  second  Chamber,  or  Lower  House.  It  dates  its  pecu- 
liar formation  to  the  constitution  given  last  year  (Jan.  31,  1850). 
The  members  number  350.  They  are  chosen  by  electoral  colleges, 


285  SOCIAL   LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


made  up  of  electors  from  certain  fixed  districts,  or  certain  cities, 
numbering  at  least  10,000  inhabitants.  The  qualifications  for  a 
member  are  that  he  should  be  thirty  years  of  age,  in  full  possession 
of  civil  rights,  and  a  resident  of  Prussia  three  years.  For  a  voter, 
the  conditions  are  a  residence  of  one  year  in  his  parish,  property  to 
the  amount  of  one  hundred  Thalers,  (about  $75,)  or  a  payment  of 
the  parish  taxes,  and  at  least  two  Thalers  of  direct  taxes;  and  fur- 
thermore that  he  should  be  of  a  sane  mind,  and  twenty-five  years 
of  age.  Apparently  a  very  liberal  basis  of  suffrage. 

The  First  Chamber  is  composed  of  the  princes  of  the  blood,  and 
of  certain  members  of  ancient  princely  families ;  of  members  nom- 
inated by  royal  order,  whose  number  shall  never  exceed  one-tenth 
of  those  chosen  by  the  people ;  and  of-  the  regular  representatives 
from  the  nation.  Of  these  last,  sixty  are  chosen  by  two  hundred 
large  landed  proprietors  in  each  province  ;  thirty-eight  by  the  com- 
mon councils  of  the  large  cities,  and  six  by  the  professors  of  each 
of  the  six  universities. 

After  some  time,  spent  in  listening  to  the  closing  speeches  on  the 
debate,  which  grew  more  and  more  dull,  my  friend  and  mvself  left 
the  hall,  and  I  accompanied  him  to  his  house,  for  a  lunch  after  the 
long  fast.  "  The  worst  of  it  all  is,"  said  he,  as  we  walked  along, 
"  there  is  such  a  quantity  of  office-holders  among  them.  The 
Constitution  reads  well  enough,  but  it  says  nothing  about  three- 
quarters  of  the  members  being  in  the  pay  of  the  Government.  We 
can  carry  no  liberal  bill  through,  of  course. 

"  Then  we  have  no  good  hold  on  the  king,  by  -the  purse-strings, 
as  you  have  in  England.  To  be  sure,  the  Chambers  have  a  nomi- 
nal control  of  the  budget — but  die  dummen  ! — (the  stupids  !) — they 
don't  know  what  it's  worth,  nor  how  to  keep  it.  Oh  die  Deutsche 
Gutmuthigkeit !  the  German  good  nature,  it  is  infinite !" 


A   DEMOCRAT.  289 

I  spoke  of  my  pleasure  in  Vincke's  bearing  and  words.  "  Yes," 
said  he,  "  be  and  the  old  Gotha  party  (the  Constitutionalists)  are 
trying  all  they  can  to  undo  what  they  did  in  '48  and  '49.  But  we 
Democrats  do  not  care  for  them.  They  defeated  us  then  and 
brought  back  the  Reaction,  by  their  accursed  theories.  If  there  is 
another  Revolution,  we  shall  soon  sweep  them  from  the  board  ! 
The  only  hope  for  Germany  now  is  in  unlimited  Democracy. 
These  half-men  are  not  the  men  for  the  times !" 

I  expressed  my  disagreement ;  that  these  men  seemed  to  me 
rational  liberalists,  who  thought  the  people  unfit  for  a  Republic,  and 
would  give  them  what  they  could  bear.  They  wanted  a  free  consti- 
tutional government  like  the  English.  I  told  him  I  did  not  like  tb 
see  parties  separated,  as  they  were  now  in  Prussia.  "  The  Demo- 
crat and  the  Constitutionalist  ought  to  unite,  to  gain  the  best  form 
of  government  possible  under  the  circumstances." 

"  What !  you  a  Republican,  advocating  these  courses  !  You  have 
learned  this  from  your  conservative  friends  here.  Did  you  know 
that  that  Constitutional  party  ruined  Germany,  when  they  had 
everything  in  their  own  hands  ?  They  can't  save  us.  It  is  too  late. 
We  have  tried  gentle  measures  long  enough.  No — to  the  devil 
with  them  all !  A  Republic  for  us  ! — Universal  suffrage ! — Free 
speech ! — No  State  Church,  and  a  chance  for  social  reform  again ! 
This  is  the  Democratic  doctrine !  You  think  me,  perhaps,  too 
much  excited  and  unreasonable.  But  you  have  not  been  here! 
You  have  not  seen  all  Germany  buy  its  liberties  with  blood,  and 
then  entrust  them  to  these  scholars.  You  have  not  seen  us  wait 
and  hJpo  and  pray,  always  believing  that  these  great,  learned  men 
would  work  us  out  something,  and  then,  at  last,  to  find,  that  they 
were  only  engaged  over  their  own  selfish  theories  and  hobbies  1  To 
13 


290  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


forget  tliis  great  criuhed  people  in  their  damned  professorial  quib- 
blings  ! — But  here  we  are — come  in,  and  we'll  take  a  bite !" 

We  went  in,  and  were  soon  over  a  very  good  cold  joint,  an  ex- 
cellent German  Wurst,  some  unnameable  pickles,  and  a  flask  of 
wine.  After  a  busy  engagement  with  the  eatables  for  a  few  minutesj 
to  stay  our  appetite,  I  went  on  to  tell  him,  that  we,  in  America,  did 
not  believe  in  that  kind  of  Democracy.  We  believed  in  bestowing 
on  a  people  what  they  were  fit  for,  and  in  educating  them  always 
for  the  highest  freedom.  That  our  liberty  was  not  the  product  of  a 
moment,  or  a  year — it  was  the  fruit  of  generations  of  political  habit 
and  training.  "  You  do  not  know  our  system,"  said  I,  "  though  the 
bdst  explication  of  it  ever  made  was  by  a  foreigner,  De  Toc- 
queville —  / 

"Achyes — I  have  read  him.  But  take  a  glass  of  wine  before 
you  begin  your  argument.  It  is  the  Cap-wine  ;*  a  very  peculiar 
wine  ;  I  think  you  never  saw  it ;  sweet  as  Tokay." 

"  No,  thank  you,  not  this  morning.  As  I  said,  or  meant  to  say » 
this  is  a  most  thorough  system  of  political  training  with  us.  Every 
village  and  district  and  state,  is  a  distinct  political  school ;  the  one 
represented  often  in  the  other,  and  each  fitting  for  the  other,  so  that 
the  boy,  and  then  the  man,  gets  a  constant  training,  through  lite, 
in  practical  politics.  Our  municipal  constitution,  as  you  call — " 

"  I  see,"  said  he,  "  it  is  precisely  what  Stein  meant  to  found  hero 
in  1808,  and  a  whole-souled'  man  he  was,  even  if  no  Democrat! 
But  you  are  neglecting  the  joint ;  allow  me  !" 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  our  principle  is  this  ;"  and  I  entered  on  a  long 
explanation  of  the  American  Constitution,  showing  its  wonderful  in- 
fluence in  political  education.  I  then  told  him,  that  for  one  I  should 
hope  more  from  seeing  that  or  a  s;milar  municipal  constitution 

*  Wiue  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  occasionally  Irank  as  a  cordial  in 
North  Germany ;  a  sweet,  pulpy  wine. 


DEMOCRATIC   CRC.ED.  291 


planted  in  Prussia,  than  from  the  most  successful  revolution.  "  Not 
but  that  a  revolution  would  be  preferable  to  your  present  oppressions 
— but  the  only  lasting  liberty,  I  am  persuaded,  must  spring  from 
such  institutions." 

"  I  think  you  are  right ;  but,  mein  lieber,  we  have  tried  all  that. 
We  had  an  excellent  municipal  constitution  promised  us,  and  then 
made  out  last  year.  But,  Ich  bitte — beg  your  pardon — light  a 
cigar — they  are  the  best  Hamburger,  though  of  course  not  equal  to 
your  American.  When  you  get  back  to  your  rooms,  just  look  in 
those  documents  you  are  poring  over,  and  you  will  find  that  'a  Con- 
stitution very  like  the  one  you  have  sketched,  was  published  last 
year.  And  now,  where  is  it  ?  The  '  all-graciousest  king'  reigns  by 
the  grace  of  God,  and  he  never  will  suffer  a  piece  of  paper  to  come 
between  him  and  his  beloved  subjects.  He  keeps  it  in  his  pocket. 
(He  referred  in  these  words,  to  an  expression  used  by  the  king,  in 
one  of  his  speeches  to  the  Chambers.)  No,  mein  Herr  Republicaner, 
there  is  no  use !  You  would  be  a  Democrat,  if  you  were  here. 
There  is  nothing  to  do  with  this  Gesindel  (rabble)  but  to  get  rid  of 
it !  Our  German  Volk  will  bear  long,  but  not  always.  You  can 
havo  no  idea  of  the  petty  oppressions  over  the  lower  classes.  All 
associations  forbidden ;  even  an  evening  party  was  broken  up  lately, 
because  the  dancers  were  Democrats  and  the  Gasthaus  was  a 
liberal  house.  The  only  free  sects  we  had,  the  German  Catholics — 
your  friends,  the  T.'s,  belonged  to  them,  you  know — are  declared 
illegal.  And  now  we  cannot  own  a  house  or  peddle  cigars,  without 

being  confirmed  in  that State  Church.  Pardon  me — but  it  is 

enough  to  make  a  man  excited  !" 

I  asked  him,  after  some  farther  discussion,  in  regard  to  the  first 
Chamber,  and  the  nobles,  whether  they  were  of  much  account. 
"  No,"  he  said,  "  they  were  not.  No  one  cared  for  them,  or  re- 


SOCIAL   LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


spected  them  especially.  They  have  not  wealth  or  talent  enough  to 
give  them  influence.  They  make  up  fine  liveries  and  carriages  for 
the  king  on  the  Fcst  days,  but  the  people  scarcely  know  any  one  by 
name.  The  king  has  a  pet-theory  that  he  must  be  surrounded  with 
a  chivalric  corps  of  peers.  He  has  tried  a  great  deal  to  build  up  a 
House  of  Lords,  as  in  England,  but  without  success,  Gott  sei  Dank  !" 
(God  be  thanked!) 

"  So,"  said  he  at  length,  as  I  rose,  "you  must  go  ...  Well ; 
leben  Sie  recht  wohl !  and  may  your  Fatherland  never  come  to  be 
like  our  poor  Germany — the  Reaction  or  the  Revolution  to  choose 
between.  Adieu." 


The  constitutional  history  of  Prussia  onlv  dates  four  years  back. 
The  father  of  the  present  king  had  promised  in  the  universal  enthu- 
siasm of  Prussia  in  1815,  to  bestow  a  constitution  on  the  kingdom. 
The  gift  was  delayed  from  year  to  year,  by  various  pretexts,  and  at 
length  the  old  king  died.  At  the  accession  of  the  present  king,  in 
1840,  all  parties  confidently  awaited  the  long-promised  instrument. 
It  was  still  withheld ;  and  it  was  only  till  the  increasing  discontent 
of  the  people  almost  made  it  necessary,  that  it  was  finally  given  (in 
1847.)  The  constitution  then  bestowed  was  framed  after  the  feudal 
and  chivalric  principles,  so  favored  by  the  king,  and  did  not  at  all 
suit  the  present  condition  of  Prussia.  The  Parliament  was  made 
up  of  the  eight  Provincial  Assemblies,  and  the  representatives  of 
slasses,  and  did  not  represent  the  people.  The  kiflg  evidently  had 
no  plan  of  founding  a  constitutional  monarchy,  but  rather  of  estab- 
lishing a  feudal  rule,  which  should  rest  on  the  loyalty,  as  well  as 
the  mutual  antagonism  of  various  ranks  in  the  state. 

This  Constitution  soon  gave  place  to  another  in  1848,  and  then 


CONSTITUTIONS.  393 

again,  after  further  changes,  to  the  Charter  of  1850.  Over  this, 
there  were  long  discussions  between  the  King  and  Parliament.  He 
was  urgent  to  carry  out  his  favorite  plan  of  a  hereditary  peerage,  and 
to  make  perpetual  the  feudal  fiefs  held  nominally  in  the  kingdom. 

The  Chambers  were  equally  opposed  to  both  of  these  aristocratic 
measures. 

The  king,  at  length,  yielded  on  the  fiefs ;  and  compromised  the 
question  of  the  peerage,  by  consenting  to  postpone  the  nomination 
of  the  Lords,  till  August,  1852.  By  this  Constitution,  the  present 
Chambers  were  granted  ;  and  the  law,  establishing  the  responsibility 
of  the  ministers. 

The  King  in  bestowing  it,  still  made  a  reservation  for  his  much 
loved  theories  of  regal  right. 

In  the  course  of  a  characteristic  and  eloquent  speech  to  the  Cham- 
bers, he  said,  **  in  Prussia,  the  King  alone  must  govern.  And  I 
govern,  not  because  it  is  my  pleasure,  God  knows !  but  because  it 
is  God's  ordinance.  Therefore,  also,  I  WILL  GOVERN  ! " 

The  Constitution  was  well  received  ;  the  only  exception  being  the 
disposition  of  the  Poles  in  Posen  towards  it.  They  demanded  a 
distinct  provincial  organization  to  their  province,  incorporated  since 
1848,  in  Prussia  ;  and  not  obtaining  it,  their  deputies  retired  from 
the  Chambers.  The  most  important  portion  of  the  Constitution  was, 
probably,  that  relating  to  the  municipal  regulations ;  published  ra 
two  distinct  laws,  March  11,  1850 ;  but  never  yet  carried  out  into 
practice. 

These  are  worth  considering  briefly,  aa  constituting  the  best  possi- 
ble political  reform,  if  they  ever  are  realized. 

The  laws  relating  to  the  reform  of  city  governments  date  as  far 
back  as  1808 — those  establishing  legislatures  in  the  Provinces,  to 
1823.  The  difficulty  thus  far  with  all  these  measures,  had  been, 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


that  they  rested  too  much  OH  the  feudal  basis,  and  threw  the  power 
into  the  hands  of  the  country  gentry.  According  to  the  new  law,  the 
government,  in  the  first  place,  of  the  parishes  (Cfemeinde)  is  left  with 
the  people.  Every  native-born  Prussian,  aged  25  years,  and  possess- 
ing property  to  the  amount  of  $75.  or  paying  the  parish  taxes  together 
with  $1.50  of  direct  taxes,  is  a  voter.  The  administration  of  the  pa- 
rish is  committed  to  the  common  council,  (Gemeinde-rat/i)  elected 
by  the  people.  This,  in  parishes  of  from  1,500  to  2,500  inhabitants, 
numbers  twelve  members  ;  in  towns  of  from  90,000  to  120,000, 
sixty  members.  Beyond  120,000,  the  allotment  is  six  for  every 
50,000.  The  qua! ideation  for  this  body  is  determined  by  property — 
half  the  members  being  landed  proprietors.  The  session  lasts  six 
years,  and  is  always  public.  The  Council  chooses  the  board  of  al- 
dermen, (Gemeinde-obrigkeit)  who  administer  the  executive  autho- 
rity, and  whose  number  vary  according  to  the  population.  The 
parish  has  the  power  of  changing  its  own  internal  government,  by  a 
particular  statute,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  council  of  the  can- 
ton, (Kreise).  In  the  smaller  parishes,  more  power  is  given  t>  the 
lords  of  the  manor. 

Previous  to  these  laws,  as  I  have  before  said,  the  influence  was 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  nobility — this  was  especially  the  case  in 
the  provincial  Legislatures.  By  the  new  laws,  the  deputies  to  these 
bodies  are  chosen  by  the  assemblies  of  the  cantons,  (Kreiseri). 
Every  person  is  qualified  to  be  a  member,  who  has  owned  property 
within  his  district  for  three  years,  or  who  is  engaged  in  a  profession, 
and  aged  thirty  years.  Every  canton  sends  a  deputy,  if  the  popu- 
lation be  below  60,000 ;  if  above,  two ;  and  one  for  every  50,000 
beyond.  The  Session  is  six  years,  and  is  public.  These  "State 
Legislatures  "  are  at  the  head  of  the  internal  administration  of  Prus- 
sia. The  royal  power  is  represented  with  them  by  a  Lord  Lieu- 


STATE   ASSEMBLIES.  295 


tenant,  ( Ober-praesident)  who  is  obliged  to  present  every  year,  a 
report  on  the  administrative  condition  of  the  province. 

These  Legislatures,  in  some  provinces,  have  given  the  King  al- 
ready much  trouble,  and  very  probably  will  much  more.  The  fiery, 
liberty-loving  deputies  in  the  Rhine  Assembly,  the  independent 
Poles  in  the  Assembly  of  Posen,  and  the  sturdy  farmers  and  land- 
owners in  the  Province  of  Prussia,  who  are  not  forgetful  that  they 
form  the  kernel  of  the  kingdom — have  all  spoken  bold  words  these 
last  few  years  against  the  encroachments  of  regal  power.  The  Le- 
gislature of  Brandenburg  feels  too  much  the  influence  of  the  court, 
and  along  with  that  of  Pommerania,  has  distinguished  itself  by  its 
cringing  and  servile  attitude.  The  Saxon  Assembly  has  been  some- 
what bolder ;  but  the  Silesian  and  the  Westphalian  again  have 
shown  the  "  reactionary  "  tendency. 

Under  this  State  government,  (of  the  Provinz)  come  the  govern- 
ments of  the  districts,  (Bezirk)  and  of  the  cantons,  (Krrise).  That 
of  the  districts  appears  to  have  only  a  minor  importance.  The  can- 
tons hold  the  principal  administration,  after  the  States  or  Provinces  ; 
and  are  in  many  respects,  almost  independent  of  the  central  power. 
Their  administrative  bodies  are  elected  by  representatives  chosen  by 
the  parishes,  (  Gemeinden)  ;  and  the  qualifications  for  membership,  are 
a  house  or  other  property  within  the  canton,  and  the  payment  of 
the  class-tax,  (about  $6)  ;  if  the  property  lies  beyond  the  canton,  the 
candidate  must  possess  an  estate  worth  5,000  Thalers,  or  have  an 
income  of  500  Thalers.  In  addition,  he  must  be  thirty  years  of 
age. 

The  especial  office  of  these  Canton  assemblies  is  the  division  of 
taxes.  They  meet,  also,  for  six  years,  and  renew  themselves  every 
two  years  by  a  third.  As  they  are  elected  by  representatives  from 
Jie  parishes,  their  basis  is  equally  popular,  with  that  of  the  parishes. 


296  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


The  crown  is  represented  in  these  bodies,  by  a  provincial  cousdl- 
lor,  (I/and  rath)  who  must  be  heard  whenever  he  demands  it. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  brief  sketch,  that  this  new  municipal 
Constitution  is  of  a  very  popular  nature,  and  though  possibly  a  lit- 
tle cumbersome,  is  eminently  adapted  to  train  the  people.  It  would 
give  them,  what  all  their  schools  and  universities  and  learned  men 
do  not — political  education. 

In  the  various  councils  of  parish  and  canton  and-  district,  iii  the 
large  and  stormy  Assemblies  of  the  Province,  in  the  thousand  little 
offices,  executive  and  financial,  which  the  Constitution  creates,  each 
man  would  gain  a  familiarity  with  political  principles.  The 
great  defect,  which  appears  now  in  all  the  German  political  enter- 
prises, a  want  of  skill  in  the  details  of  politics — would  in  a  few 
years,  be  very  much  removed  by  such  a  system.  The  Prussian 
peasant  would  get  the  idea  thoroughly  infused  into  him — of  a  self- 
administered  government.  He  would  come  more  and  more  to  trust 
in  the  ballot-box,  and  not  in  the  bayonet,  for  political  reforms, 
and  in  time,  we  might  hope  that,  like  the  Englishman  or 
American,  he  would  be  a  supporter  and  advocate  of  Self-Govern- 
ment,  almost  from  instinct.  In  respect  to  such  a  system,  I  should 
say,  what  I  said  to  my  friend,  that  "  I  would  hope  more  from 
its  adoption  for  Freedom,  than  from  all  the  Revolutions  of  a  ceo- 
tury." 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

A    SUNDAY   IN    GERMANY. 

MY  landlady  came  in  this  morning  with  my  coffee,  unusually 
neatly  dressed,  "Herr  B.,  you  must  hurry!  you  will  not  be  ready 
for  the  Domkirehe  (Cathedral) !" 

"  Why,  what  is  there,  this  morning  ?" 

"  Did  you  not  know  ?  This  is  Lent,  and  we  have  not  been  to 
the  theatre  the  whole  week,  and  I  have  cooked  puddings  every  day, 
and  now  there  will  be  some  beautiful  music  for  the  king,  at  8  o'clock ! 
Are  you  not  Christians  in  America  ?" 

"  I  thought  you  said  you  never  went  to  church  !" 

"I  do  not  usually ;  but  now  one  must  go  for  the  sake  of  the  lit- 
tle ones,  and  then  you  know,  no  one  stays  away  in  Lent !" 

"  Do  you  like  Prediger  Nitsch,  as  well  as  you  used  to  ?"  said  I, 
after  a  little  further  conversation. 

"Yes,  I  do  like  him,  but  I  find  it  hard  to  understand  him.  He 
seems  to  me  the  only  honest  one.  Perhaps  it  isn't  so,  in  America, 
Herr  B.,  but  you  know  here,  the  preachers  do  not  believe  what 
they  say,  and  we  all  know,  they  do  not  care  for  us  common 
people." 

I  told  her  I  found  many  of  them  very  good  men  indeed,  and 
13* 


298  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


doing  much  for  the  poor ;  "  but  what  makes  you  think  they  do  not 
believe  what  they  say  ?" 

"  How  can  they  ?  You  will  pardon  me,  for  perhaps  you  believe 
so,  but  how  can  they  believe  that  miracles  ever  happened.  Why 
should  we  not  have  them  now  ?  And  then  who  supposes  God 
would  have  created  us  poor  sinners  just  to  be  miserable  always,  after 
we  die  ?  I  do  not  often  speak  of  these  things,  raein  Herr,  espe- 
cially before  the  children,  but  I  do  not  believe  in  the  God  of  the 
Pietisten.  I  have  done  very  many  foolish  things,  and  I  was  a  gay 
pretty  young  girl  once,  though  you  would'nt  think  it  now  ;  but  if 
I  should  die  now,  I  should  have  no  fear.  Perhaps  that  will  be  all 
of  me — the  dear  God  knows  best ;  one  thing  I  am  sure  of,  He  will 
treat  me  kinder  than  I  would  treat  my  dear  little  ones.  I  always 
remember  what  Schleiermacher  said  once  in  a  funeral  of  a  child, 
here,  '  There  is  hope  of  a  tree,  that  if  it  be  cut  down,  it  will  sprout 
again,  but  man  dieth,  and  where  is  he  ?  ,Yet  one  thing  we  are  cer- 
tain of,  the  little  one  and  we,  are  in  the  hands  of  the  All-Merciful, 
and  whether  we  shall  exist  or  not,  it  shall  be  well  with  us !'  I  think 
so  also,  Herr  B !" 

This  speech  of  Schleiermacher,  I  have  often  heard  from  others  be- 
side my  landlady,  so  that  there  is  probably  some  foundation  for  it ; 
still  it  must  have  been  uttered  very  early,  as  his  later  writings  show 
an  unwavering  faith  in  Immortality.  Our  conversation  I  will  not 
follow  further7;  it  was  soon  interrupted  by  the  summons  to  the 
church.  It  was  a  bright,  peaceful  winter-like  morning,  as  I  stepped 
out,  the  fresh  snow  over  everything,  and  the  spires  and  towers  of 
Berlin,  standing  up  cold  and  distinct  against  the  clear  sky.  Cheer- 
ful parties  were  returning  from  the  morning  concerts  held  in  the 
cofiee-houses  out  of  the  city,  all  hastening  towards  the  Cathedral. 
These  Sunday  concerts,  I  understand,  are  to  be  forbidden  in.  future, 


CATHEDRAL   SERVICE.  209 


by  the  government,  which  is  determined  to  have  Sunday  more 
strictly  observed. 

The  walls,  as  usual,  are  all  covered  with  placards  of  the  grand 
entertainments  for  this  evening ;  though,  it  being  Lent,  the  King's 
theatre  will  be  closed.  There  is  much  excitement,  apparently,  about 
one  play  which"  is  to  come  off  to-night — Julius  Ccesar — as  only 
last  week  an  opera  not  nearly  so  democratic  in  its  sentiments,  was 
forbidden,  and  the  crowd  expect  the  police  will  interfere  in  this. 

No  one  seemed  to  have  any  private  seat  in  the  Cathedral,  and  I 
took  a  good  one  in  front.  It  was  very  cold  and  damp  in  the  build- 
ing. The  soldiers  crowded  in  so  thickly,  that  very  many  stood 
up,  but  there  _was  no  disorder.  At  length  the  king  entered  the  gal- 
lery dressed  in  his  usual  blue  overcoat,  with  only  one  officer  in  at- 
tendance. The  service  at  vonce  began  with  a  chant,  and  then  a 
young  man  in  a  gown,  apparently  a  Candidat  or  theological  stu- 
dent, stepped-forward  on  a  low  platform,  and  read  the  service,  while 
the  responses  were  made  by  the  choir.  He  read  appropriately,  yet 
with  deep  feeling  of  the  great  wants  and  sorrows  of  the  human 
soul,  of  its  infinite  needs,  its  essential  weakness,  its  dependence,  and 
its  love  for  the  Highest  One,  and  the  music  answeredin  tones  of 
more  than  earthly  sorrow,  or  of  repentance,  or  joy,  or  hope.  It 
was  a  sublime  service,  as  given  in  that  crowded  Cathedral,  with  the 
best  trained  choir,  perhaps,  ^>f  Europe.  I  never  hear  a  good  litur- 
gical service  in  any  church,  without  being  conscious  of  how  bare  is 
the  simple  form  to  which  I  have  been  accustomed  at  home.  From 
a  man  of  real  life  and  feeling,  prayers  of  the  heart  are  beyond  all 
forms  and  liturgies.  But  how  seldom  is  he  to  be  found !  How 
much  of  our  present  church  prayer,  is  the  most  utter  and  monotonous 
form  and  repetition,  without  the  advantage  of  its  being  a  repetition 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


selected  by  the  best  taste,  and  hallowed  by  the  associations  of  many 
centuries.  Would  that  some  new  service  might  be  framed,  where 
the  prayers  of  the  moment,  of  the  heart's  feeling,  might  be  mingled 
with  pray  ere,  culled  from  the  Bible  and  from  the  best  aspirations  of 
the  holy  men  of  the  past. 

Our  preacher  was  one  of  the  regular  chaplains,  and  appeared  to 
view  in  a  high  box  or  pulpit,  in  another  part  of  the  building.  He 
opened  with  a  short  introduction,  then  read  his  text,  and  then 
preached  from  memory.  The  sermon  was  a  quaint  one,  upon  the 
subject  of  Sampson's  life,  the  object  being  to  draw  an  analogy  be- 
tween the  history  of  Prussia  and  the  experiences  of  Sampson ! 
The  contamination  of  the  people  by  French  influence  under  Frede- 
rick the  Great ;  the  merging  of  their  own  morals  and  taste  into  the 
French,  and  the  subsequent  degeneration,  and  disgrace  under  the 
French  rule,  was  found  pictured  in  the  sinful  intercourse  of  Samp- 
son with  the  heathen.  "  He  took  a  wife  from  the  Philistines." 
His  principles  were  injured  and  his  strength  weakened  by  this  union, 
and  he  fell  utterly  into  their  hands.  Still,  through  it  all,  he  re- 
tained his  faith  in  God,  and  this,  at  length,  wrought  out  his  salva- 
tion. So  with  their  dear  Fatherland.  Through  all  those  years  of 
weakness  and  dishonor,  she  still  held,  in  some  degree,  to  the  Faith, 
and  when  finally,  she  was  delivered,  it  was  because  Infidelity  and 
French  sensuality  were  repented  of,  and  the  people  believed  in  God 
again.  Sampson,  still  later,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Philistines, 
and  again,  through  his  intercourse  with  the  Philistine  harlot.  So 
with  Prussia.  She  will  not  keep  herself  from  the  Delilah  of  French 
infidelity,  and  socialism,  and  falsely-called  Freedom.  Again,  like 
Sampson,  she  has  fallen  in  these  late  days  of  the  Revolution,  into 
the  hands  of  the  Philistines,  and  "  who  shall  say,  whether  she  shall 
escape,  like  the  Jewish  leader,  only  by  her  own  ruin  ?  "  Meine  go- 


A  SERMON.  3ll 


liebten  ! — beloved !  these  are  dark  days  for  Prussia'!  A  godless, 
heathenish  spirit  is  abroad.  Men  are  seeking  to  uproot  all  Law  and 
Religion  !  They  cry  Liberty,  but  they  are  really  seeking  license, 
indulgence.  The  people  do  not  believe  on  a  God,  they  do  not  re- 
spect their  lawful  rulers.  They  revile  the  church.  See  the  excesses 
of  the  Revolution,  and  see  here,  what  they  have  resulted  in.  Look 
at  these  outbreaks  in  Hesse-Cassel  and  in  other  parts  of  Germany. 
Blood  and  disorder, "and  irreligion,  are  the  fruits.  These  are  what 
the  Socialists,  the  Revolutionists,  and  all  who  are  stirring  up  the 
ignorant  crowd,  seek.  No,  to  have  true  liberty,  we  must  return  to 
the  Faith  of  our  Fathers,  we  must  learn  to  honor  our  rulers,  we 
must  attend  to  the  instructions  of  the  clergy.  In  every  way,  we 
must  be  separate  from  this  French  Delilah — the  Socialism  and  Un- 
belief— then  only  \yill  strength  return  unto  our  poor  Fatherland  !" 

The  sermon  was  listened  to  with  profound  attention,  and  waa 
really  eloquent  in  many  passages.  It  was  followed  by  a  hymn  and 
short  prayer,  and  the  congregation  broke  up. 

As  I  was  walking  home,  I  was  joined  by  a  young  gentleman,  an 
acquaintance,  who  is  at  the  head  of  a  manufacturing  business  of 
some  extent ;  not  a  man  of  University  education,  but  of  quick  in- 
telligence. We  spoke  of  the  sermon,  and  its  quaint  analogies,  and 
at  length  he  said,  "  I  do  not  know  how  you  feel,  Mr.  B ,  but  such 
sermons  sicken  me  of  the  Bible  !" 

I  told  him  I  detested  them. 

"  There  was  not  one  generous  or  noble  word,"  said  he,  again,  "  in 
the  speech  for  these  millions  of  poor,  oppressed  men  in  Germany. 
He  spoke  as  if  the  whole  of  these  immense  wrongs  rested  on  the 
ignorant  and  degraded  people.  He  did  not  even  mention  the  pro- 
mises which  have  been  broken  over  and  over  by  these  princes;  nor 
the  deception  and  injustice  practised  so  long  by  our  rulers.  Who 


302  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


has  made  Ih'e  people  degraded  ?  Who  keeps  them  so  1  One 
would  think  from  him  that  the  masses  had  no  rights." 

"  And  that  allusion  to  Cassel,"  said  I,  "  seemed  to  me  base,  and 
ungenerous  and  false." 

"  I  am  glad  you  think  so.  But  these  things  are  what  we  hear  all 
the  while.  There  has  not  been  a  wrong  or  an  act  of  tyranny  these 
last  ten  years,  which  these  men  have  not  supported  from  the  Bible. 
And,  for  my  part,  I  have  come  to  abhor  mucfi  of  the  Bible.  If  it 
upholds  a  system  like  this,  I  shall  not  wish  to  know  more  of  it." 

1  told  him  I  was  sorry  he  felt  so  about  the  Bible.  To  me,  its 
spirit  seemed  to  be  the  very  spirit  of  liberty,  and  for  myself,  the 
highest  aspirations  I  had  ever  had  of  human  freedom,  I  believed 
prompted  by  it.  My  most  ideal  dreams,  I  said,  of  what  humanity 
might  at  length  attain  to — the  highest  possible  perfection  to  which 
society  could  progress — were  always  only  the  realizing  of  the  simple 
words  of  Jesus.  This  has  always  been  to  me,  said  I,  the  proof  of 
the  divine  origin  of  Christianity,  much  more  than  miracles  or  his 
toric  evidence. 

He  acknowledged  this  was  true  of  the  New  Testament,  but  the 
Old,  which  these  preachers  used  so  much,  "  How  did  that  answer 
my  conceptions  of  progress  ?" 

I  told  him  that  I  looked  on  it,  in  the  main,  as  a  history  of  the 
first  development  of  the  race,  where  complete  growth  was  not  to  be 
expected.  "  Yet,  even  there,"  said  I,  "  I  find  ideas  and  pictures  of 
human  progress,  far  beyond  that  age  or  any  age  since.  That  grand 
Future  of  Justice  and  Love  for  mankind,  which  Isaiah  paints,  is  be- 
yond even  our  highest  theories.  Yes,  and  nothing  to  me  so  com- 
pletely foreshows  what  the  purest  of  your  patriots  in  Europe  might 
feel.  Kossuth,  for  instance — " 

"  Kossuth  is  no  Democrat !" 


'INFIDELITY.  303 

"  Well,  any  who  hate  oppression  and  long  for  liberty.  Nothing, 
I  say,  so  sounds  like  what  they  ought  to  speak,  as  the  words  of 
these  Jewish  prophets — that  passionate  love  for  their  country, 
through  all  the  dark  days  of  oppression — that  hope  irrepressible  of 
liberty  for  their  native  land,  and  thus  for  the  world,  and  the  belief 
never  to  be  shaken  in  the  God  of  justice,  and  in  a  happy  Future  for 
humanity.  Is  not  all  this  fully  equal  to  the  spirit  of  our  nineteenth 
century  ?  Isn't  it  a  great  way  beyond  your  cowardly  German  faith 
in  progress  ?" 

He  confessed  it  had  never  struck  him  quite  in  that  light.  "  But," 
said  he,  "I  cannot  escape  my  early  prejudices.  I  do  not  desire  to 
disbelieve.  I  sincerely  long  for  some  support  to  faith,  but,  as  I  have 
little  time  to  study,1  my  impressions  of  the  Bible  are  mostly  taken 
from  the  teachings  of  these  men.  And  now  I  cannot  separate  them 
from  their  arguments  for  tyranny  and  injustice.  I  know  it  is  not 
reasonable  ;  possibly  it  would  not  have  been  so,  if  I  had  been  brought 
up  in  America ;  but  now  the  Bible  seems  to  me  an  instrument  of 
priestcraft.  My  first  emotion  towards  it,  as  I  see  these  tremendous 
wrongs  among  my  poor  people,  is  almost  of  indignation.  And  I 
find  many  of  my  workmen  have  the  same  feeling,  or  if  they  have 
not  consciously,  it  affects  them,  and  they  prefer  beer-drinking  to 
hearing  such  things.  I  always  argue  against  them,  when  they  say 
anything,  yet  I  must  confess  to  thoughts  of  the  same  kind." 

I  told  him  I  was  very  sorry  that  he  should  have  been  forced  to 
such  a  view  of  the  Bible,  but  that  he  must  leave  these  (to  him) 
"  blind  guides,"  and  study  for  himself.  I  thought  our  American 
Liberty  was  planted  on  the  Bible,  and  if  he  would  only  look,  he 
would  see  that  the  spirit  of  Christ  everywhere  is  the  spirit  of 
liberty. 

Such  are  the  views  I  hear  throughout  Germany,  from  the  honest- 


304  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


minded  and  the  earnest;  tlie  seekers  for  truth  and  lovers  ot  free- 
dom. I  respect  the  Protestant  clergy  of  Germany ;  they  are,  in 
genera],  self-denying,  laborious  men,  who  have  certainly  not  entered 
on  their  profession  with  any  motives  of  selfish  advancement  or  ease. 
But  I  cannot  avoid  seeing  that  they  are  losing  their  hold  on  the 
heart  of  the  people.  Their  connection  with  the  State,  their  associa- 
tions; their  education,  unite  them  to  the  upper,  not  to  the  lower 
classes.  They  do  not  sympathize  with  the  people.  They  are  not 
"  with  the  age,"  and  the  age  will  leave  them. 

When  the  next  Revolution  comes  in  Germany,  as  come  it  will, 
woe  to  the  Protestant  clergy  !  The  storm  which  is  gathering  against 
royal  power,  and  the  privileged  class,  and  the  accumulated  abuses 
of  ages,  will  burst  fearfully  on  them  also.  It  will  be  found  that 
they  have  built  on  the  sand. 

Clergymen  in  America !  This  is  a  fact  worth  considering  by  you. 
Your  influence  over  the  American  people  has  been  great ;  greater, 
perhaps,  than  the  moral  influence  of  the  clergy  has  ever  been  in  any 
land.  It  has  been  gained  by  the  deep-seated  conviction  among  all, 
of  your  sincerity,  of  your  unwavering  love  of  Liberty,  of  your  hearty 
sympathy  with  human  progress.  It  is  remembered,  that  your  body 
led  the  Puritans,  that  you  aroused  the  people,  and  even  led  them 
in  the  struggle  of  the  Revolution ;  that  you  have  stood  first  ever 
since  in  the  promoting  of  social  reform,  and  the  defence  of  genuine 
Freedom  !  For  this,  you  have  the  full  confidence  and  affection  of 
the  nation. 

But  if  the  time  ever  comes,  in  which  your  Order  is  found  siding  with 
the  powerful  against  the  weak  ;  if  from  motives  of  paltry  fear,  or  of 
•caution,  or  of  selfish  interest,  you  are  seen  upholding  wrong,  however 
legalized  and  sanctioned ;  if  the  voice  which  has  so  often  rung  for 
Freedom,  is  heard  on  the  side  of  oppression  ;  if  the  holy  influence  of 


SUNDAY  EVENING.  305 


your  office,  the  sanctions  of  the  Word  which  you  teach,  are  turned 
to  support  the  strong  in  high  places,  and  to  press  down  the  helpless— • 
then  is  your  influence  over  the  American  heart  gone  [  Nor  is  that 
all.  If  Religion  and  the  Bible  are  made  to  excuse  or  defend 
Tyranny — "  away  with  the  Bible  !"  will  be  the  cry.  And  we  shall 
have  an  Infidelity  wide-spread,  worse  even  than  the  German — 
because  all  the  best  impulses  of  the  age  will  gather  around  if 
Let  us  be  warned  in  time. 


In  Die  afternoon  of  this  Sabbath,  I  attended  a  meeting  of  the 
Baptists,  >u  a  distant  part  of  the  city — quite  as  simply  conducted  as 
the  services  of  our  least  formal  sects ;  and  with  an  air  of  unassumed 
sincerity  ana  spirituality.  After  this,  I  took  that  pleasantest  of  all 
walks,  the  Sunday  evening  walk  in  the  park,  adjoining  the  city — 
the  Thiergartei,.  Many  parties  were  out  .enjoying  the  bracing  win- 
ter air ;  but  on  the  whole,  not  especially  gay  or  noisy.  There  seems 
much  less  dissipation  on  Sunday,  in  Protestant  than  in  Catholic  Ger- 
many. In  the  evening,  I  was  invited  to  a  friend's,  Pastor  L ,  a 

man  much  beloved  in  Berlin  for  his  simple  Christian  character,  and 
well  known  for  his  talents.  There  was  some  pleasant  singing  of 
hymns  by  the  family — those  earnest  old  German  hymns — in  the 
early  part  of  the  -evening ;  and  about  eight  o'clock,  we  sat  down  to 
supper.  Dried  goose  flesh,  Wurst,  tongue  with  bread  and  butter 
made  the  principal  part,  followed  as  a  close  by  a  large  pudding  with 
a  cup  of  tea  to  each.  We  were  a  long  while  eating,  and  still  longer 
talking.  At  length,  the  things  were  cleared  away  ;  a  huge  punch- 
bowl was  brought  in,  the  pipe  filled  for  the  Pastor,  and  a  cigar  of- 
fered me,  and  the  cups  being  passed  around,  the  long  conversation 
of  the  evening  began. 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


I  spoke  in  the  course  of  it,  of  the  hymns  they  had  been  singing ; 
now  very  expressive  and  heart-felt  they  seemed  to  me.  Yes,  they  said, 
the  old  hymns  were  a  treasure  to  their  people,  only  next  to  the  Bi- 
ble. "  They  have  become  so  identi6ed  with  various  parts  of  our 
lives,  that  we  cannot  do  without  them.  This  hymn  for  instance  has 
been  sung  at  thousands  of  death-beds. 

" '  Mein  Jesus  ist  mein  Leben,  und  Sterben  mein  Gewinn ;  ihm 
hab  Ich  mich  ergeben,  in  Friede  fahr  ich  bin.' 

"  Have  you  Americans  hymns,  that  you  love  so  much  ?  We  Ger- 
mans, perhaps,  feel  music  more  than  you." 

I  told  him,  I  thought  that  our  people  had  a  great  love  for  music, 
though  of  course  they  were  not  so  cultured  in  it,  as  the  Germans. 
And  I  believed  the  most  intellectual  part  of  us,  felt  the  music  in 
church-Service  quite  as  much  as  the  ignorant,  "  for  it  is  the  language 
of  the  heart,  and  the  head  is  not  offended  by  it,  as  in  many  of  our 
religious  forms." 

"  To  which  of  your  sects  do  you  belong,  Mr.  B.  ?  "  said  Madame 

"  To  the  Independenten"  I  answered,  and  then  attempted  to  ex- 
plain the  position  oT  our  Congregational  churches — "  selbst-standige 
Gemeinden"  as  1  called  them. 

"  Are  they  Lutheran  or  Reformed  I "  was  the  next  inquiry. 
Their  creed  was  more  from  Calvin,  I  said,  though  we  did  not  make 
the  same  division  as  in  Germany. 

"  Is  not  the  splitting  up  into  so  many  sects  a  great  evil  with  you, 
in  America  ?"  they  asked.  "  It  does  not  seem  right  that  the 
Church  of  Christ  should  be  so  divided!" 

I  replied,  that  if  these  sects  were  rivals,  or  were  continually  quar- 
relling, or  if  they  felt  each  that  the  other  was  out  of  the  church,  it 
would  be  so  But  as  it  is  now,  they  only  represent  a  few  of  the  in- 


TALK.  307 

finite  differences  of  the  human  mind.  "You  here  in  Germany,  in 
the  United  Church,  are  in  fact  just  as  much  divided  ;  that  is,  if  you 
are  honest.  You  yourself,  Herr  Pastor,  have  told  me  of  the  very 
great  difference  of  opinion  in  the  German  Church,  in  regard  to  tho 
doctrine  of  eternal  punishment,  and  I  think,  if  you  ask  each  think- 
ing man,  you  will  find  quite  as  great  a  variety  here  of  theologica' 
views,  as  are  shown  by  our  sects." 

They  allowed  it  would  probably  be  so. 

"  What  surprises  us  most  here  in  Germany,  about  America,"  said 
the  pastor,  "  is  that  you  sustain  so  religious  a  state  and  such  a  steady 
self-government — for  we  have  taken  that  word  into  German — when 
you  are  getting  from  Europe,  all  our  wildest  elements.  You  have 
our  proletariat,  our  escaped  convicts,  our  reddest  Republicans,  our 
Socialists  and  Jesuits.  I  myself  hardly  believe  the  American  Re- 
public can  last,  with  such  a  continual  pouring  in  of  these  classes." 

I  told  him  the  fiery  Revolutionists  cooled  down  there  very  fast, 
having  as  much  as  they  could  do,  to  earn  their  " butter-brod"  and 
besides,  finding  nothing  which  needs  revolutionizing.  "  And  as  for 
the  immigration  of  your  proletariat,  your  paupers  and  your  rogues, 
it  is  an  awful  evil ;  but  for  my  part,  I  am  glad  that  there  is  ono 
land  where  the  man  who  has  gone  wrong  before,  can  start  afresh. 
We  do  not  want  the  refuse  of  your  prisons  on  our  shores,  but  we 
do  offer  hope  to  the  outcast  again,  and  if  his  influence  is  bad,  with 
God's  aid  we  will  meet  it." 

«  Gut ! good !" — said  they  all ;  "  a  health  to  your  Fatherland  !" 

"Thank  you  !  I  think,"  I  added,  "you  are  under  some  mistake 
in  regard  to  our  Socialists.  I  find  every  one  here  looks  on  them  as 
the  worst  people." 

"  What !  You  do  not  think  that  there  is  anything  good  in  So- 
cialism r 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


"  Certainly  I  do.  Socialism  as  Communism,  the  voice  of  com- 
mon sense  everywhere  condemns.  And  it  is  very  plain,  that  Europe 
has  passed  its  sentence  on  the  Socialists,  as  a  party.  Perhaps  those 
in  Europe  may  be  worse  men  than  ours  in  America.  But  I  think 
with  us,  the  movement  will  have  its  good  effects.  Our  Socialists 
especially  advocate  the  raising  up  of  brute  labor,  by  uniting  it  with. 
Capital  and  making  it  responsible.  And  you  will  find  in  many  of 
our  manufactories  the  workmen  holding  shares  of  the  stock.  They 
encourage  Association,  too,  especially  for  those  who  cannot  protect 
themselves.  Then,  for  my  part,  I  think  it  good,  particularly  in  our 
crowded  cities,  that  they  preach  up  so  continually  the  advantage  to 
every  man  of  owning  land,  and  through  its  great  advocates  in  the 
New  York  Tribune — have  you  seen  this  journal  ?" 

"  No  ;  the  only  American  papers  we  ever  see  here  are  the  New 
York  Herald,  and  the  Staats  Zeitung." 

"  Well,  through  the  articles  of  that  paper,  though  very  few  agree 
•with  its  theory,  much  attention  has  been  drawn  to  the  laboring 
classes.  We  begin  to  feel  more  the  claims  and  rights  of  the  poor. 
You  understand  ?  WTe  are  not  Socialists ;  but  many  of  us  think 
there  are  truths  in  this  Socialist  movement." 

"  But  do  you  not  at  least  fear  the  Catholics  ?"  said  the  pastor. 
"  We  are  in  much  alarm  here  in  Prussia.  Some  report — though  I 
do  not  credit  it — that  His  Majesty  himself-  is  influenced  by  the 
Jesuits.  And  we  hear  that  they  are  making  great  advances  in  tho 
Ehenish  provinces.  Will  not  the  enemy  soon  be  in  like  a  flood 
everywhere,  even  in  your  free  land  ?  I  fear  it,  mein  Freund." 

I  answered  that  many  good  people  feared  it  with.  us.  I  did  not. 
Jesuitism  was  behind  the  age  ;  "  and  if  it  ever  influences  America, 
it  must  be  very  different  from  what  it  has  been." 


THE  CHILDREN.  309 


u  Ach  ! — you.  don't  know  it  as  we  do,  Herr  B .     It  changes 

everywhere." 

"  But,  Vater  /*'  said  one  of  the  children,  "  you  must  not  forget  to 
let  der  Herr  B.  tell  us  about  the  Indian  chief,  he  promised.  To 
think  that  he  has  really  seen  the  Irulianer — only  they  are  very  often 
not  at  all  as  Cooper  makes  them,  and  he  says  that  they  wear  old 
hats  and  long  coats,  like  other  people.  Do  tell  us,  Herr  B. !" — and 
accordingly  I  am  drawn  into  a  long  description  of  a  poor  tribe  I 
once  saw  .and  its  chief.  "  Oh  !  how  hard  it  must  be  for  them  to 
leave  the  old  hunting-grounds  !"  they  all  say  at  the  close ;  and  the 
Frau  Mutter  half  brushes  away  a  tear,  as  she  thinks  of  the  sad  lot 
of  the  exiles,  and  the  pastor  says  solemnly,  "  God  will  hold  your 
Fatherland  accountable !" 

"  But  tell  us  more,  Herr  B.,"  the  children  say,  as  they  cluster 
around  nie,  "  about  the  great  steamboats  you  told  us  of  once,  which 
have  so  many  thousand  people  in,  and  the  cars  with  sofas  and  fire- 
places, and  the  buftkloes  and  all  that.  We  want  to  hear  again  !" 
So  I  spin  another  long  story,  when,  at  length,  it  is  time  for  the  chil- 
dren to  go  to  bed.  We  all  leave  the  table  for  the  other  room,  and 
family  prayer  is  held ;  a  short,  heart-felt  exercise,  breathing  with 
love  and  charity  and  child-like  dependence  on  the  Giver  of  all  their 
mercies.  The  children  embrace  "  the  father"  and  me,  and  are  taken 
up  stairs.  I  say  a  few  words  of  parting,  kiss  the  hand  of  the  Frau 
Mutter,  and  am  conducted  to  the  outside  door  by  the  pastor,  where 
he  kisses  me  on  both  cheeks,  "  Gott  sei  mit  Ihnen  !"  (God  be  with 
you !) — Gute  Nacht! — and  I  return  home.  The  Sunday  has  been 
a  happy  one  to  think  of,  though  after  all,  there  are  no  church  ser- 
vices like  those  in  one's  native  tongue. 

The  sermons,  as  usual,  have  disappointed  me.  Since  I  have  been 
in  Europe,  I  have  listened  faithfully  to  the  preaching  in  the  conn- 


310  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


tries  of  the  highest  culture,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  in  that  mode  of 
influencing  men,  the  European  nations  are  not  at  all  equal  to  us.  It 
is  not  only  in  a  facility  of  speaking — which  is  much  more  gener- 
ally possessed  by  our  people  than  by  any  other  unless  the  Hun- 
garian— that  I  find  this  inferiority,  but  in  the  genial  sympathy  with 
humanity,  and  in  the  thorough  intellectual  cultivation  of  oratory,  by 
which  alone  a  great  part  of  the  community  can  be  reached.  In 
Scotland,  where  the  preachers  have  a  greater  influence  than  in  any 
ether  country  of  Europe,  the  sermons  are  models  of  consistent  and 
thorough  logic ;  and  I  know  nothing  more  interesting  than  the  sight 
of  a  Scottish  audience,  settling  itself  down  with  such  an  air  of  com- 
fortable enjoyment,  to  the  hearing  of  a  lengthy  discussion  on  some 
of  the  driest,  knottiest  points  of  a  technical  theology.  Still,  with  all 
this,  and  though  the  Scottish  oratory  is  often  of  a  very  effective 
kind,  and  the  Scottish  clergymen  of  the  Free  Church,  since  that 
grand,  noble  act  of  ''  Separation,"  take  a  position  which  no  other 
clergymen  in  Europe  can  take,  it  will  be  found  that  their  preaching 
has  very  little  hold  of  great  masses  in  the  community.  The 
sympathies  of  the  preachers  are  not  with  the  immense  classes  of  the 
poor  and  degraded.  The  Scottish  religious  thought  is  trammeled 
by  systems.  The  ministers  denounce  from  the  pulpit,  and  they  lay 
down  their  dogmas ;  but,  as  they  themselves  confess,  there  are  large 
classes,  both  of  earnest,  inquiring  minds,  and  of  degraded,  sunken 
characters,  whom  they  never  at  all  influence. 

In  England,  oratory  is  by  no  means  so  generally  cultivated  as  with 
us ;  and  sermonizing  in  the  Church  has  become  often  a  mere  form, 
while  in  the  Dissenters,  it  is  not  generally  supported  "by  the  highest 
culture,  or  most  thorough  labor.  At  least,  that  was  my  impression 
in  England.  The  French  pulpit  oratory  is  often  very  touching  and 
beautiful ;  full  of  an  affectionate  earnestness — sometimes  not  sum- 


GERMAN    PREACHING.  31J 


ciently  chaste ;  but  usually  showing  much  pathos  and  poetry  ;  a  style, 
which  under  a  free-church  system,  might  be  developed  into  a  very 
effective  means  of  influence. 

In  Germany,  there  are  two  distinct  styles  of  preaching,  so  far  as 
I  have  observed — a  very  abstract  and  obscure  style,  and  a  superfi- 
cial and  "  popular,"  the  latter  much  predominating.  Whether  this . 
is  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  preachers  must  address  so  many  very 
ignorant  people,  or  to  some  deficiency  in  "  the  practical "  in  the 
German  character,  I  do  not  know  ;  but  certain  it  is  that  the  German 
preaching,  at  least  in  Prussia  and  Saxony,  is  usually  inferior  in  in- 
tellectual power,  and  very  little  adapted  to  make  any  lasting  impres- 
sion on  any  one.  The  sermon  is  a  well-meaning  religious  exhorta- 
tion, not  well  delivered — for  the  Germans  are  seldom  good  speakers — 
but  pathetic  to  the  weaker  part  of  the  audience,  and  sometimes 
flowery.  For  deep  and  earnest  thought,  which  penetrates  men's 
minds  and  rests  there ;  for  the  eloquent  expression  of  the  preacher's 
own  life  and  experience,  one  must  not  go  to  the  usual  German 
preaching  ;  and,  quite  naturally,  there  is  very  little  interest  among 
the  majority  of  the  community  in  preaching. 

The  best  pulpit  orators  I  heard,  were  Dr.  Tholuck,  Wichern  of 
Hamburg,  and  one  or  two  of  the  Berlin  pastors.  I  would  not  take 
it  on  myself  to  say  where  exactly  the  preachers  are  at  fault ;  for  very 
many  things  are  to  be  considered,  in  an  old  country,  with  almost 
hopelessly  ignorant  classes  like  this.  But  such,  in  general,  is  my 
impression  of  German  preaching. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE  UNION  OF  THE  GERMAN  CHURCHES. 

THE  traveller  in  Germany  will  find  himself  with  surprise,  on  enter- 
ing certain  Protestant  churches,  under  a  form  of  worship  which 
seems  to  him  scarcely  to  differ  from  the  Catholic.  The  clergyman 
is  going  through  with  similar  manifold  genuflections  and  movements 
to  and  fro,  before  the  altar,  or  is  singing  passages  of  the  worship 
with  his  back  to  the  audience  ;  candles  are  burning  before  the  cruci- 
fix at  mid-day ;  there  are  old  pictures  over  him  and  images  of  saints 
on  the  walls,  and  everything  reminds  him  of  the  church  whose 
power  has  always  been  in  her  striking  and  sensual  ceremony. 

Again,  he  will  enter  other  churches  and  join  in  a  worship  plain 
and  simple  as  the  simplest  to  which  he  has  been  accustomed  in  any 
land.  A  prayer,  a  hymn  sung  by  the  congregation,  the  sermon, 
and  the  closing  blessing — and  then  perhaps  will  flash  upon  him  the 
history  and  the  opposing  tendencies  of  those  two  minds  who  have 
left  their  ineffaceable  impress  on  every  nation  of  Christendom — LU- 
THER and  CALVIN, — and  he  will  see  that  he  has  been  standing  before 
the  embodiment  of  their  thoughts  and  feelings,  in  the  forms  of  the 
"  Reformed  "  and  the  "  Lutheran  "  churches.  If  he  should  carry  his 
researches  still  farther,  he  will  find,  especially  in  'North  Germany, 
churches  where  both  the  modes  of  worship  he  has  seen  before  seem 


LUTHER    AND    CALVIN.  313 


combined — where  the  "  wafer  "  is  not  used  at  communion,  but  tho 
candles  still  burn  at  the  altar;  where  the  clergyman  sings  the  ser- 
vice, but  the  service  itself  is  "  Reformed ; "  where  the  creed  speaks  of 
Calvin  and  the  ceremonies  of  Luther  ;  and  then,  on  inquiry,  he  will 
learn  for  the  first  time,  with  surprise  at  his  ignorance — if  he  be  in. 
my  own  situation — that  these  forms  are  the  results  of  a  most  impor- 
tant religious  Movement,  which  has  been  going  on  for  more  than 
a  century  in  North  Germany,  and  which  has  called  out  more  bitter 
feelings  and  at  the  same  time  more  ardent  hopes,  than  any  other 
religious  movement  of  the  age — a  movement  whose  thorough  suc- 
cess would  have  changed  the  whole  aspect  of  the  German  Protestant 
Church  :  I  mean  the  attempt  for  the  Union  of  the  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  Churches. 

I  wish  in  this  chapter  to  enter  into  an  examination  of  these  efforts 
for  a  Union,  both  because  of  their  very  important  influence  on  the 
present  state  of  the  German  Church,  and  because  of  the  very  little 
knowledge  there  is  generally  on  the  whole  subject. 

In  doing  this,  it  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  speak  at  any  length 
of  the  differences  of  these  two  churches,  or  of  the  minds  which 
founded  them. 

Luther,  we  all  know,  clung  to  the  Past,  loved  a  strong  mingling 
of  "  the  material  "  in  his  worship,  and  could  not  avoid  a  tone  of 
mysticism  in  his  creed ;  Calvin  and  his  school  were  men  more  of 
the  new  times — men  of  clear  intellect,  of  abstraction,  of  progress. 

They  do  not  seem  to  me  either  of  them  to  have  been  so  much 
opposed  to  one  another,  as  rather  to  have  represented  different  sides 
of  the  human  mind.  We  are  all  Calviuists  or  Lutherans,  almost 
by  nature,  and  sometimes  we  become  one  or  the  other,  as  our  years 
or  our  circumstances  change.  For  my  part,  I  must  say  my  sympa- 
thies are  always  with  the  Lutheran  and  my  practice  with  the  Ca1 
14 


14  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


vinist.  I  should  like  to  believe  with  such  men  as  LUTHER,  and 
COLERIDGE,  and  BUSHNELL,  that  there  was  a  mystic,  mysterious  in- 
fluence in  the  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  deeper  and  more 
sacred  than  that  from  a  mere  "  memorial ; "  or  with  Melancthon, 
that  an  unseen  power  acted  in  Baptism,  which  made  it  something 
more  than  a  "symbol."  I  could  hope  that  their  belief  would  prove 
the  true  one ; — but  it  will  not  stand  the  -cold  touch  of  Reason ; 
it  does  not  fit  the  "  compasses  of  Logic  " — and  I  must  doubt.  Yet 
those  are  the  minds  which  are  much  the  most  interesting,  with  whom 
one  can  have  the  deepest  sympathies,  whom  one  can  most  love,  but 
with  whom,  alas  !  one  cannot  think. 

To  understand  this  subject  of  the  "  Union,"  it  will  be  necessary  to 
go  into  historical  detail  somewhat,  and  the  research  will  necessarily 
be  dry.  Yet  this  detail  is  indispensable  to  understanding  the  pre- 
sent condition  of  religious  parties  in  Germany,  and  it  opens  an  im- 
portant movement,  in  regard  to  which  there  is  very  little  known  in 
America,  among  those  who  ought  to  be  much  better  informed. 

The  dissensions  between  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  churches  in 
Germany,  had  been  now  almost  for  centuries  one  of  the  crying  evils  of 
the  Protestant  Church.  Theological  bitterness  and  controversy  had 
well  nigh  exhausted  itself  over  the  points  of  difference.  Churches  had 
been  severed  which  should  have  acted  together  in  the  same  great 
cause  ;  .and  the  contest  had  reached  such  a  height  among  the  com- 
mon children  of  the  Reformation,  that  not  only  the  preachers  of  one 
side  would  not  interchange  with  those  of  the  other  in  performing 
church  services,  but  that  even  Lutheran  families  would  not  associate 
or  intermarry  with  Reformed.  It  was  not  till  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, that  any  great  effort  was  made  to  heal  these  dissensions. 
Princes  had  occasionally  issued  proclamations,  but  it  was  always 
found  that  "  Orders  from  Cabinets  "  had  very  little  influence  over 


THE    FIRST    EFFORTS.  315 


the  odium  theologicum.  At  length,  in  1730,  the  Centennial  Fes- 
tival of  the  Reformation,  or  rather  of  the  formation  of  the  Augsburg 
Confession,  took  place,  and  it  was  anxiously  desired  that  all  par- 
ties should  join  amicably  in  it.  Accordingly  the  preachers  from  both 
churches  publicly  recommended  the  two  parties,  "  in  speaking  and 
writing,  to  preserve  theological  prudence  and  suitable  moderation 
and  calmness,  and  to  avoid  all  abusive  expressions  or  invectives 
against  those  related  in  the  Faith  ! " 

At  this  Festival,  several  distinguished  men  ventured  to  speak  out 
in  favor  of  a  union  of  the  two  parties.  The  son  of  Bishop  Jablonski 
boldly  asserted  that  "  the  difference  of  opinion  did  not  concern  the 
ground  of  Faith."  More  impressively  still,  a  certain  Dr.  Tollner,  m 
La  Miscellaneous  Theses,  declares  that  "  the  easiest  and  most  attaiu- 
aole  means  of  union,  was  a  common  Declaration,  that  the  difference 
of  opinion  is  no  essential  ground  of  separation  between  the  two 
churches,  and  that  they  should  unite  in  the  great  ideas  of  the  Refor- 
mation." All  these  efforts  by  prominent  men,  and  the  general 
friendly  influence  of  such  a  festival,  had  a  good  effect  in  preparing 
the  minds  of  the  people  for  a  nearer  union  hereafter  of  the  opposing 
sects.  At  the  close  of  the  century  many  other  voices  were  raised 
with  the  same  object ;  and  among  them  that  of  Rosier,  of  Epping, 
in  a  somewhat  remarkable  appeal :  "  We  have  a  great,  an  immortal 
work  before  us,  which  in  earlier  and  later  times  the  most  celebrated 
philosophers,  princes  and  king*,  have  attempted  in  vain — the  unity 
of  Lutherans  and  Reformed,  or  rather  the  melting  together  of  both 
these  Protestant  religious  parties  into  one.  Calvin  and  Luther  shall 
embrace  before  the  altar  of  Religion,  break  their  shepherds'  staves, 
and  deliver  over  the  sceptre  to  the  Genius  of  Protestant  Freedom 
alone!  The  names  'Reformed'  and  'Lutheran'  shall  die  away 


316  SOCIAL    LIFE  IN   GERMAN? 


(verhalleri)  forever,  and  only  the  name  of '  Protestant '  be  given  and 
taken,"  <fcc.,  &c. 

In  1800,  an  address  of  Simon  Van  Alpen  appears  to  have  pro 
duced  much  effect,  wherein  he  says  :  "  Of  no  giving  up  of  this  or 
that  doctrine,  no  yielding  of  this  or  that  sect,  is  the  talk  ;  and  as 
little  would  we  introduce  a  community  of  goods,  or  melt  together 
the  means  of  the  different  parties.  No  ;  we  will  only  think  upon 
this,  how  good  and  beautiful  it  is  to  be  in  union.  We  will  only 
work  for  toleration,  for  sociality,  for  harmony  of  spirit,  but  never/ores 
Faith — Unity  !  " 

At  this  time,  as  the  result  of  all  these  efforts  and  perhaps  of  greater 
enlightenment,  there  began  to  prevail  a  much  more  friendly  spirit 
between  the  two  churches.  The  preachers  interchanged  in  church 
services  and  even  in  celebrating  the  Communion,  and  the  families 
of  one  party  were  known  not  unfrequentlv  to  intermarry  with  those 
of  the  other.  There  seemed  hardly  an  objection  in  some  places  to  a 
formal  union,  except  in  the  difficulty  of  arranging  the  property  of 
the  various  denominations.  In  these  years,  too,  Herder  uttered  his 
voice  for  the  uniting  of  the  sects,  though  warning  that  "  only  two 
things  can  unite  opposing  religious  parties — Time  and  Tfutk!" 

Here,  in  the  beginning  of  this  century,  came  the  sweep  of  war 
over  Germany,  and  began  the  long  years  in  which  the  power  and 
the  laws  of  a  foreign  conqueror  were  fastened  upon  Germany.  The 
immediate  effect  of  Napoleon's  "  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,"  by  its 
prostrating  all  religious  sects  to  the  same  level  and  bringing  them 
all.  under  the  same  laws,  was  undoubtedly  to  unite  and  soften  their 
differences  of  doctrine.  But  the  greatest  influence"  arose  from  the 
nature  of  those  wonderful  events  during  the  first 'years  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  The  common  sufferings  of  Germany,  the  long  years 
of  disgrace,  the  sudden,  inspirited,  almost  religious  uprising  against 


317  THE    "APPEAL." 


the  French,  the  well  nigh  miraculous  deliverance,  all  conspired  to 
deepen  the  religious  feelings  throughout  the  land.  Even  in  the  com- 
plicated diplomatic  negociations  of  181 5,  and  in  the  later  Conferences, 
there  is  a  religious  tone  manifest,  which  is  very  singular  indeed,  and 
which,  if  we  consider  the  astounding  deceptions  of  the  princes  at  the 
time,  we  might  regard  as  mere  hypocrisy.  But  the  inconsistencies 
of  human  nature  are  manifold,  and  we  are  justified  perhaps  in  be- 
lieving that,  even  here,  there  was  a  basis  of  truly  religious  feeling. 
With  this  general  state  of  feeling  through  Germany,  as  the  Centen- 
nial Festival  of  the  Reformation  in  1817  drew  near,  the  desires  in- 
creased among  all  parties  for  a  nearer  union  of  the  churches.  A 
day  of  truer  freedom  and  unity  seemed  dawning  for  Germany, — 
why  should  not  the  common  disciples  of  the  Reformation,  pitted 
against  one  another  so  long  in  fierce  contest,  at  length  join  hands 
over  their  common  principles  ?  What  better  expression  of  gratitude 
to  God  for  His  dealings  with  Germany,  than  this  harmony  of  His 
servants  ? 

These  feelings,  strong  and  deep,  were  wonderfully  increased  that 
year  by  an  "  Appeal,"  made  by  the  king  of  Prussia  with  reference 
to  the  Union,  to  the  various  "  Consistories"  of  the  monarchy.  This 
"  Appeal"  is  the  basis  of  all  the  subsequent  proceedings  in  Prussia. 
We  will  extract  briefly  from  it  :* 

"  Already  have  my  enlightened  predecessors^now  resting  in 
docl — Prince  John  Sigismund,  Prince  George  William,  the  Great 
Prince,  King  Frederick  II,  and  King  Frederick  William  II,  mado 

*  I  copy  these  extracts  from  an  old  newspaper  of  the  year  1817,  contain- 
ing the  Appeal  in  full.  And  I  would  say  here,  that  the  details  given  in  this 
chapter  are  taken  from  a  great  variety  of  histories  and  newspapers,  or  gath- 
ered from  conversation  with  those  well-informed  on  the  subject — as  indeed 
no  comprehensive  account  of  the  whole  movement  exists,  so  far  as  I  know. 


318  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


the  attempt  with  pious  earnestness,  as  the  history  of  their  lives  and 
governments  prove,  to  unite  into  one  Evangelical  Christian  Church 
the  two  separate  Protestant  Churches,  the  Reformed  and  the 
Lutheran.  *  *  *  * 

"  Such  a  true  religious  unity  of  both  churches,  as  yet  only  sepa- 
rated by  outward  differences,  is  .suitable  to  the  great  objects  of 
Christianity  ;  it  answers  the  first  views  of  the  Reformers  ;  it  lies  in 
the  -spirit  of  Protestantism  ;  it  is  healthy  to  household  piety  ;  it  will 
become  the  source  of  many  useful  improvements,  often  only  hin- 
dered by  the  difference  of  confessions,  both  in  churches  and  schools. 
****** 

"But  much  as  I  must  desire  that  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran 
churches  in  my  kingdom  should  share  with  me  this  my  well-tested 
conviction,  yet  equally  far  am  I,  in  my  regard  for  their  rights  and  free- 
dom, from  wishing  to  force  them  or  to  determine  their  choice  in  any 
degree  in  this  matter.  This  union  can  only  have  a  true  value,  if 
neither  indifference  nor  persuasion  have  a  share  therein,  if  it  comes 
from  the  freedom  of  individual  conviction,  and  is  not  a  unity  of  out- 
ward form  alone,  but  a  unity  of  heart." 

We  will  not  follow  it  through  farther.  Suffice  it  to  say,  it  con- 
tains the  most  admirable  principles  of  church  unity,  is  written  in  a 
lovely  tone  of  toleration  and  of  true  Christian  feeling,  and  forms,  in 
connection  with  succeeding  events,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in- 
stances in  history  of  the  utter  contrast  between  the  public  profes- 
sions of  princes  and  their  actions.  However,  at  the  time  it  made  a 
great  impression,  and  the  long-wished  for  Union  seemed  to  many  at 
length  close  at  hand.  «%  ' 

Schleiermacher  took  up  the  subject  with  great  earnestness,  and 
with  him,  as  presiding  officer,  a  synod  of  Berlin  preachers  from  both 
churches  met  to  adopt  suitable  measures.  The  king  had  already 


UNION.  31ft 


made  known  his  intention  of  celebrating  this  Festival  of  the  Refor- 
mation, by  uniting  the  two  court  churches  of  the  different  sects  into 
one  "  Evangelical  Christian"  Church,  and  partaking  with  them  in 
common  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  In  agreement  with  the  above,  this 
Synod  decided  that  in  the  parishes  the  names  "Reformed"  and 
"  Lutheran"  should  no  more  be  applied  to  the  different  churches, 
but  the  name  "  Evangelical  Christian,"  and  that  they  would  all 
unite  at  once  in  the  communion — the  only  change  in  this  last  being, 
that  bread  should  be  used  instead  of  the  wafer,  and  that  simply  the 
words  of  Christ  should  be  said,  "  Take,  eat,  this  is  my  body,"  &c. 
Still,  it  was  added,  that  both  in  this  union  and  in  this  change  of 
ceremony  no  change  of  doctrine  or  uniting  of  confessions  was  im- 
plied, and  that  no  one  who  joined  them  should  be  considered  as 
hating  left  his  own  church.  At  the  same  time  notice  was  given 
that  the  Candidats  in  Theology  who  presented  themselves  for  ex- 
amination before  the  Consistory  of  this  church,  could  be  of  either 
Confession. 

The  "  Union"  was  now  an  organized  thing.  There  was  a  "  Uni- 
ted Evangelical  Christian  Church"  in  Prussia.  Thus  far,  matters 
had  gone  on  well.  Before  the  assembling  of  the  synod,  the  uniting 
seemed  almost  a  natural  process ;  but  with  the  proceedings  of  this 
body  began  many  objections  to  arise.  It  was  noticed,  with  distrust, 
that  very  many  of  those  most  prominent  in  the  efforts  for  the  union, 
were  men  of  no  especial  earnestness  of  Christian  character.  The 
harmony  in  manv  quarters  seemed  very  much  like  the  harmony  of 
indifference.  It  was  urged  too,  with  much  force,  that  the  union  was 
a  merely  apparent  union — a  melting  together  of  ceremonies  which 
never  would  have  differed  from  each  other,  unless  they  had  repre- 
sented different  opinions.  Time,  it  was  claimed,  would  have  done 
much  more  for  true  union.  The  Berlin  synod  had  been  in  too  much 


320  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


haste  to  pluck  the  fruit.  Despite  these  querulous  voices,  the  king 
was  determined  to  carry  the  matter  through,  and  accordingly,  in 
1821,  issued  a  public  "  Church-Service"  (Agende),  which  he  ordered 
to  be  adopted  in  the  "Court  Church"  and  cathedral  of  Berlin, 
and  which  he  recommended  to  the  other  parishes  of  Prussia.  The 
service  here  recommended  is  the  one,  with  some  slight  modifica- 
tions, at  present  used  by  all  the  united  churches  in  the  kingdom, 
and  it  may  not  be  superfluous  to  examine  it  briefly. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Reformed  churches  of  Germany 
early  simplified  their  form  of  worship  as  much  as  possible,  while 
Luther,  in  the  churches  under  his  influence,  preserved  many  of  the 
traits  of  the  old  Romish  ceremony.  Still  more  than  the  Lutheran 
•worship,  did  the  form  in  the  Church  of  England  approach  the  Roman 
Catholic  form,  while  the  creed  of  that  church  leaned  to  that  of  the 
Reformed.  Accordingly  in  this  new  Prussian  Church-Service  the 
model  taken  is  the  service  of  the  Church  of  England,  with  the  de- 
sign of  satisfying  both  parties  in  the  German  Church.  The  great 
points  of  difference  between  this  and  the  old  Lutheran  form,  are  in 
the  words  spoken  at  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  in  the  change  of  certain 
expressions  in  the  Litany.  Various  passages,  too,  which  appeared 
to  smack  too  much  of  the  "old  orthodoxy,"  in  this  new  form  are 
modernized.  At  the  breaking  of  bread,  under  the  Lutheran  service, 
it  is  said,  "  This  is  the  true  body  of  Christ  Jesus,  which  shall 
strengthen  us,"  &c.  In  the  United-Service,  "  Our  Lord  and  Holy 
One  Jesus  Christ  speaks, '  This  is  my  body,' "  &c.  In  the  Old,  in 
the  prayer,  "  As  we  now  purpose  to  celebrate  the  Supper  of  our 
Lord,  wherein  he  has  given  us  his  flesh  for  food,  and  his  blood  for 
a  drink"  <kc.  But  in  the  New,  merely  "  As  we  now  intend  to  hold 
a  memorial-meal,  which  has  been  established  by  Him  for  the 
strengthening  of  our  faith,"  &c. 


NEW   SERVICE.  321 


The  Lutheran  exorcism  at  baptism,  "  Depart,  thou  unciean  spirit, 
and  give  place  to  the  Holy  Spirit !"  becomes  "  Let  the  spirit  of  im- 
purity give  place  to  the  Holy  Spirit !" 

The  forswearing  of  the  devil  under  the  old  form  by  the  baptized, 
in  three  separate  questions  and  answers,  is  simplified  into  "Dost 
thou  deny  the  Wicked  (Bosens,  which  may  mean  either  a  person 
or  a  thing)  in  all  its  (or  his)  works  and  being  ?" 

Our  limits  will  not  allow  us  to  go  more  particularly  into  an  ex- 
amination of  this  service.  Suffice  it  to  say  all  the  old  expressions 
with  reference  to  inherited  depravity  are  softened,  all  allusions  to  the 
existence  of  Satan  as  a  being  are  carefully  rooted  out,  together  with 
the  Lutheran  belief  of  the  bodily  presence  in  the  bread  and  wine  at 
the  Supper.  The  whole  has  besides  a  much  more  modern  look  than 
the  Lutheran  services,  and  is  filled  with  more  expressions  of  homage 
and  obedience  to  the  king,  "the  highest  bishop,"  than  are  the 
former. 

The  official  publication  of  this  church-service,  and  the  prospect  of 
its  soon  being  forced  upon  the  nation,  at  once  aroused  all  the  old 
slumbering  spirits  of  controversy.  From  far  and  near,  from  Lu- 
therans* and  Reformed,  from  the  Unionists  themsel/es,  came  tho 
attacks  on  this  new  mode  of  worship. 

#  Among  the  very  strong  opposers  of  this  service,  at  this  time,  was  Stef- 
fens,  and  as  he  was  a  man  of  feeling  and  vigorous  thought,  it  may  give  an 
idea  of  what  modern  Lutheranism  is,  under  its  best  forms,  to  quote  some  of 
his  thoughts  on  the  "  Communion  Supper." 

"  Through  the  communion  the  whole  mystery  of  Redemption  sinks  in  its 
rich  fullness  into  the  feeling  personality.  *  *  *  *  What  Christ  believes, 
what  impregnates  his  whole  life,  what  overpowers  death— this  becomes  by 
the  sanctifying  presence  of  the  Redeemer  (in  the  Communion  Supper) , 
Certainty,  Enjoyment,  Nourishment.  Only  he  who  knows  the  being  of 
Love  (and  he  only  knows  it  who  has  lived  it)  can  comprehend  this  inner  In. 
spiration.  A.11  that  we  think  and  will,  everv  lurking  idea  of  the  spirit 
14* 


322  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 

The  Lutherans  disliked  it  because  it  omitted  their  peculiar  doc- 
trine with  regard  to  the  Communion,  and  because  of  its  modern 
half- rationalistic  tone.  The  Reformed  could  not  endure  the  Romish 
customs  it  enjoined — of  singing  at  the  altar,  and  burning  candles 
before  the  crucifix,  and  the  half  Catholic  arrangement  of  the  litur- 
gy. The  indifferent  objected  to  the  King's  assuming  to  himself  the 
ecclesiastical  power,  and  among  the  Unionists,  one  who  had  been 
most  prominent  in  the  first  movement — Schleiermacher — came  out 
•with  characteristic  boldness,  and  denied  that  th\sjus  liturgicumv!a& 
included  among  the  royal  rights ;  in  other  words  denied  that  the 
king  had  the  right  to  prescribe  in  what  way  his  people  should  wor- 
ship. All  the  opposition,  however,  could  not  delay  the  progress  of 
the  "  Agende?  In  four  years,  it  was  adopted  by  nearly  6000 
churches  in  Prussia  ;  the  government  requiring  a  direct  yes  or  no, 
as  to  its  reception,  from  every  preacher.  And  in  1826,  directly 
against  all  the  beautiful  principles  of  toleration  put  forth  by  the 
king  in  the  beginning,  it  was  forced  upon  every  parish  under  govern- 
mental influence.  In  1830  it  became  the  legalized  mode  of  worship 
in  the  National  Church. 

One  would  have  supposed  that  this  would  have  at  length  settled 
the  subject  of  the  "  Union."  Bnt  it  was  very  far  from  doing  so. 
The  great  question  now  arose  what  peculiarly  the  Union  was? 
Was  it  merely  a  union  of  ceremonies  ?  If  so,  what  was  it  worth, 
and  how  could  ceremonies  be  changed  without  in  some  degree  im- 

everything  which  we  gaze  at  and  enjoy,  as  great  and  noble — body  and  soul, 
pressing  themselves  through  to  a  higher  spiritual  union,  step  to  meet  the 
present  Holy  One.  All  which  he  was  and  will  be  to  the  world  :  all  which 
he  taught  and  suffered,  forms  itself  anew  in  us.  His  words  are  HIMSELF — 
are  Spirit  and  Life." 

"  I  am  no  theologian,  *  *  *  but  the  Communion  Supper  seems  to  me 
the  highest,  the  most  important,  most  mysterious  of  all  religious  acts.' 


UNION    QUARRELS.  323 

plying  a  change  of  the  opinions  which  they  represented  ?  Was  it 
a  union  of  creeds  ?  But  this  idea,  it  was  well  known,  was  strongly 
deprecated  by  some  of  the  most  strenuous  supporters  of  the  mea- 
sure. Besides,  if  it  was  such  a  uniting  of  opinions,  what  was  now 
the  common  basis  ?  Was  it  the  Augsburg  Confession,  which  was 
the  only  one  on  which  they  could  appear  to  be  in  harmony  ?  But 
here,  there  was  the  insurmountable  objection  that  the  Lutherans  held 
to  a  different  form  of  the  Confession  (invariata  confessio)  from  that 
recognized  by  the  Reformed  (variata.)  Beside  all  this,  the  difficulty 
arose  as  to  the  point  whether  the  United  Church  was  the  National 
Church  or  not.  The  supporters  of  the  movement  claimed  nation- 
ality for  it,  as  vehemently  as  the  opposers  denied.  So  that  now 
there  was  not  only  fierce  dispute  on  the  question  what  the  Union 
was,  but  where  it  was.  To  these  endless  quarrelings  over  the  long 
hoped  for  "  harmony,"  was  added  the  intense  opposition  of  the  "  old 
Lutherans,"  who  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Union,  who 
abhorred  it  as  our  Puritanic  ancestors  would  have  abhorred  being 
"  united  "  into  the  Church  of  England.  In  Silesia  and  Breslau,  this 
opposition  rose  to  a  determined  resistance.  And  here  the  king,  for- 
getting the  beautiful  sounding  principles  which  he  had  uttered  in 
the  beginning  of  the  movement,  proceeded  to  drive  the  opposing 
sects  into  a  union  ;  "  united  "  clergymen  were  installed  over  unwill- 
ing congregations  by  companies  of  infantry,  and  those  who  would 
not  "harmonize"  were  sent  to  prison,  or  driven  to  foreign  lands,  to 
acquire  a  more  fraternal  disposition. 

So  vanishes  the  beautiful  dream  of  Christian  Unity  !  The  king, 
however,  still  continued  his  efforts,  and  in  1834  issued  the  "  Cabinet 
Order,"  on  which  the  present  dispositions  of  the  Prussian  Church 
rest.  According  to  this  document  the  Union  is  a  matter  of  free 
resolve ;  the  reception  of  the  new  Church-Service  does  not  include 


SOCIAL    LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


the  Union  in  itself :  and  furthermore,  churches  that  wish  the  pas- 
tors about  to  be  placed  over  them  pledged  on  the  "Augsburg  Con- 
fession," are  allowed  this  privilege. 

But  we  will  quote  a  passage — 

"  The  Union  purposes  and  intends  no  giving  up  of  the  previous 
Confessions  of  Faith,  nor  is  through  it  the  authority,  which  the  con- 
fessional writings  of  both  churches  have  thus  far  had,  in  any  way 
abrogated.  By  the  connection  with  it,  will  only  the  spirit  of  mod- 
eration and  mildness  be  expressed,  a  spirit  which  would  not  let  the 
difference  of  single  points  of  doctrine  in  the  other  Confession,  be  held 
as  a  ground  for  denying  it  outward  churchly  society." 

The  last  movement  of  any  importance  with  reference  to  this  mat- 
ter, is  the  assembling  of  the  "General  Synod"  in  Berlin  in  1846. 
Nothing,  however,  of  the  existing  relations  of  the  churches  was 
changed  by  this  body.  Their  efforts  appear  to  have  been  directed 
to  an  ingenious  and  benevolent  plan  for  jointing  together  a  Union 
by  the  aid  of  a  double-meaning  Confession.  For  instance,  in  the 
"  Ordination-formulary  "  proposed  by  them,  in  the  expression  "  God 
the  Father  and  the  Son,"  &c.,  the  comma  is  introduced  after  "  Fa- 
ther," with  the  design  of  leaving  the  liberty  to  those  who  wished  of 
applying  the  name  "  God  "  to  the  Father  alone.  And  in  respect  to 
Christ,  the  word  "  Self-privation  "  (Selbstentdasserung)  is  used,  and 
the  words,  "of  the  glory  which  he  had  with  the  Father,"  are  ex- 
pressly left  out.  Throughout  this  form  for  Ordination,  Scripture 
terms  are  as  much  as  possible  alone  employed,  so  that  the  preacher 
who  pledges  himself  to  them  may  apply  his  own  interpretation. 
The  object  of  the  Synod  seems  to  have  been,  by  means  of  such  an 
elastic  Confession,  to  bring  all  the  clergymen  under  one  union,  and 
then  to  have  allowed  each  church  to  propose  its  own  particular  form 
of  faith,  (if  it  so  desired)  to  the  candidate  for  Ordination.  The  plan 


WHAT    RESULT?  325 


fell  through,  however,  and  the  present  Prussian  Union  rests  on  the 
legal  basis  of  the  "  Cabinet  Order"  of  1834. 

An  apology,  perhaps,  is  due  to  the  reader  for  carrying  him 
through  such  a  mass  of  dry  detail.  But  it  is  only  by  these  histori- 
cal facts  that  the  present  condition  of  the  Prussian  Church  can  be 
understood  ;  the  parties  into  whicn  it  is  divided,  and  the  hopes  and 
feelings  which  have  gathered  long  and  which  still  exist  in  connection 
with  these  parties.  It  is  believed,  too,  that  the  facts  here  presented 
are  exceedingly  difficult  to  obtain  in  any  clear  and  compact  form, 
even  in  Prussia  itself. 

It  will  be  seen,  that  the  result,  after  all,  of  these  many  govern- 
mental efforts  to  unite  the  opposing  sects  is  a  failure.  There  is  no 
more  real  unity  than  there  was  in  the  old  days  of  bitter  controversy. 
What  harmony  there  is,  either  began  before  government  put  in  its 
aid,  or  is  the  result  of  the  present  wide-spread  indifference  to  the 
whole  subject  of  religion  and  its  ceremonies.  Lutheran  and  Re- 
formed, indeed,  worship  often  now  under  the  same  forms,  but  either 
holding  different  beliefs  of  certain  dogmas,  or  with  no  earnest  belief 
whatever.  Probably  the  next  generation,  brought  up  in  this 
"  Unity,"  will  be  entirely  indifferent  to  the  theological  controversies 
of  their  fathers.  But  whether  this  harmony,  connected  as  it  is  with 
that  deadness  of  religious  life  always  the  effect  of  governmental  in- 
terference, is  of  any  value,  is  a' question. 

Another  great  result  is  the  important  ecclesiastical  power  allowed 
the  king  by  the  Union.  With  his  right  as  "  Patron,"  of  appointing 
the  clergymen  to  a  great  number  of  the  churches  of  Prussia,  with 
the  power  he  has  assumed,  of  imposing  a  Liturgy  on  the  people, 
and  with  his  privilege  of  either  nominating  or  approving  the  mem- 
bers of  the  "  Upper  Consistory,"  the  great  ruling  Synod  of  the 
kingdom,  he  has  certainly  a  very  extensive  and  dangerous  influence 


J26  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY". 


over  the  Church  of  the  nation.  Indeed  it  is  the  opinion  of  very 
many  that  the  only  object  of  Frederick  Third's  many  efforts  in  this 
matter,  was  to  strengthen  the  power  of  the  crown.  This  is  possible. 
But  the  general  history  shows  the  King  of  Prussia  during  at  least 
the  years  of  Napoleon's  rule,  to  have  been  a  weak  man  much  ra- 
ther than  a  bad  man.  And  accounts  which  I  have  heard  in  pri- 
vate, of  his  remorse  in  later  years  at  the  forcible  measures  he  had 
employed  to  fasten  the  Union  on  the  people,  lead  me  to  think  his 
motives  might  not  have  been  bad.  However  that  may  be,  the  re- 
sults are  the  same,  and  they  at  least  show  us  that  the  great  problem 
of  the  "Union  of  Sects"  is  not  at  all  solved  in  the  Prussian  Union. 


CHAPTER  XXXIY. 

A    DAY   WITH    A    BURGER. 

I  HAVE  been  invited  to  spend  tbe  day  with  ray  friend  T.,  just  out 
of  the  city.  It  is  beautiful  Spring  weather,  and  I  find  it  very  de- 
lightful to  be  strolling  out  in  gardens  again,  in  this  mild  air.  There 
are  young  ladies  in  the  company,  the  daughters  of  my  friend,  and 
a  university  student  of  theology  from  Halle,  a  young  lawyer  just 
about  to  pass  his  examen,  and  a  sociable  clever  fellow  of  middle  age, 
who  may  be  a  physician  or  a  scientific  man  of  property.  They  call 
him  Doctor,  and  I  ain  told  he  is  a  strong  Free  Trader.  Some  other 
young  ladies  have  come  in  almost  witE  me — true  specimens  of 
German  beauties,  with  oval  faces,  flaxen  hair  in  ringlet",  pure  speak- 
ing complexions,  aad  eyes  of  clear,  deep  blue,  of  which  you  can 
hardly  say  whether  they  are  more  expressive  of  reflection  or  feeling. 
There  seems  a  good  prospect  of  a  very  sociable  day. 

"  I  suppose  you  did  not  know,  llerr  B.,"  said  one  of  the  young 
ladies,  as  I  came  in,  "that  we  are  having  a  holiday  for  the  mother's 
silver  wedding  ?"  I  told  her  I  did  not,  and  unfortunately,  did  not 
even  know  what  the  silver  wedding  was.  *'  So !  I  suppose  you 
have  no  such  things  in  your  practical  Fatherland.  Bien  ;  in  Ger- 
many when  a  couple  have  been  married  twenty-five  years,  they  cele- 
brate the  silver  wedding,  ind  the  friends  make  them  presents,  and 


SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


if  they  are  goodfromme  Leute — pious  people,  they  go  to  church 
and  have  a  ceremony,  and  it's  all  a  grand  holiday.  We  Berliners 
leave  out  the  church  part,  but  we  always  have  a  merry  time.  Of 
course,  you  know  no  more,  what  the  golden  wedding  is." 

"Alas!  no." 

"  That  is  for  the  couple  who  have  been  married  fifty  years,  and  it 
is  ihe  custom  in  many  parts,  for  them  then  to  be  married  over  again 
in  church  !" 

I  professed  myself  very  glad  to  have  part  in  such  a  pleasant 
thing,  and  we  turned  to  join  with  the  rest  of  the  company. 

The  ladies  at  once  sat  down  with  their  baskets  of  worsted  and 
silks,  and  we  of  the  male  part,  strolled  out  in  the  gardens.  I  asked 
soon  in  regard  to  the  betrothal  in  North  Germany — whether  that 
was  also  much  celebrated.  They  said,  it  was  not ;  there  was  usually 
a  formal  announcement — nothing  more.  "  You  will  find,"  said  the 
Doctor,  "  that  these  pretty  customs  of  which  you  hear  so  much  as 
German,  are  not  much  observed  in  North  Germany.  They  are  more 
Southern.  We  here  are  more  cosmopolitan.  I  have  been  a  great 
deal  in  England,  and  I  notice  very  little  difference  in  outward  maty 
ters,  between  our  country  and  that.  We  are  more  social,  and  we 
like  a  good  home-chat  and  frolic ;  but  as  for  superstitions  and  in- 
teresting customs,  we  have  few  of  them." 

I  told  him,  that  there  was  one  thing  in  which  I  found  a  great 
difference  between  the  two  countries,  and  for  which  I  liked  the  Ger- 
mans— that  was,  the  very  few  distinctions  of  rank  here.  "  I  have 
never  heard,"  said  I,  "  a  German  talking  about  any  other  class  or 
set,  as  if  he  especially  troubled  himself  with  it ;  and,  for  all  that  is 
said,  I  should  never  know  that  an  order  of  nobility  existed  here." 

"  You  are  right,  to  a  degree,"  he  replied.  "  We  Germans  usually 
enjoy  what  we  have,  without  asking  whether  others  enjoy  more  or 


TITLES. 


less,  and  we  know  little  about  the  English,  and  as  I  understand 
your  American — jealousy  of  those  above  us.  Perhaps  it  is,  be- 
cause no  one  ever  expects  in  Germany  to  be  anything  more  than  his 
lather  is." 

"  But,"  interrupted  the  young  lawyer,  "  the  Herr  Americaner  has 
not  known  all  our  ladies  yet.  If  you  only  could  see  the  stout  lady 
of  our  chtf,  how  indignant  she  is  if  a  single  title  is  left  out.  '  The 
Madame  Councillor  of  the  Court,  and  Professor  and  County  Magis- 
trate, <fec.  &c.'  I  have  only  to  string  all  these  together,  and  add  a 
von  in  the  end,  and  I  can  put  her  into  a  heavenly  humor !" 

"  Yes,  our  Advocat  has  hit  it,"  said  the  other,  "  there  is  a  very* 
foolish  fondness  for  these  titles  among  certain  people,  but  in  general 
our  nobles  are  of  no  account.  They  are  neither  rich  nor  talented, 
and  of  course,  blood  alone  goes  a  very  little  way." 

I  questioned  the  Advocat  as  to  his  profession,  in  the  course  of 
the  conversation,  whether  he  studied  a  regular  course,  and  whether 
he  could  go  at  onco  into  practice  ? 

"  No  ;"  said  he,  "  and  that  is  the  worst  of  it.  I  cannot  practice 
or  afford  to  marry  for  ten  years  after  passing  my  examinations.  The 
drudgery  is  tremendous.  Our  code  involves  such  an  immense 
amount  of  study  on  the  sources  of  the  present  law,  on  the  colla- 
teral law,  on  so  many  branches  of  law,  I  must  pass  three  very  severe 
public  examinations,  and  then  I  receive  a  small  salary  from  govern- 
ment, and  can  either  be  a  pleader,  or  solicitor,  as  I  choose.  The  work 
is  enormous.  It  seems  to  me,  I  was  a  fool  for  ever  beginning  it !" 

I  asked  how  the  jury  courts  worked. 

"  Miserably,"  said  he  ;  "it  is  an  absurdity  to  suppose  that  twelve 
of  our  common  Germans  would  either  be  honest  or  knowing  enough 
ever  to  sit  in  judgment  on  any  important  case.  Why  should  it  not 
be  left  to  a  court  of  judges,  educated  for  that  very  purpose  I" 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


"But  your  judges  are  appointed  by  Government ;"  said  I.  "  Are 
they  qualified  to  decide  on  a  case  between  the  Government  and  the 
people  ?" 

"Yes;  quite  as  much  so  as  the  other  party.  Professional  charac- 
ter alone  would  generally  impel  them  to  decide  honestly.  The  fact 
is,  Ilerr  B.,  we  have  before  our  juries,  just  such  pleadings  as  you 
may  remember  in  that  famous  case  of  Peekveek  (Pickwick).  Our 
jurymen  are  a  mere  Gesindel,  (rabble)  and  would  be  completely 
blindfolded  bv  these  Sergeant  Bootsfoots,  (£uzfuz) — how  do  you 
call  it?" 

•  I  laughed  at  finding  this  classic  of  legal  actions  in  the  German ; 
and  the  conversation  turned,  as  it  always  will  when  that  enclyco- 
pedia  of  fun  is  mentioned,  into  a  delighted  and  hearty  recalling  of 
scene  after  scene  of  Pickwick. 

"  But,  where  are  the  young  ladies  ? "  said  the  Doctor,  as  we  en- 
tered the  house  again,  through  one  of  the  large  windows  on  the 
balcony.  "  Why  you  know,  Doctor,"  said  one  of  those  who  had 
come  in  with  me,  "  that  we  all  have  come  rather  early  ;  and  Frau- 
lein  S.  must  oversee  the  kitchen  awhile,  and  L.  is  engaged  up  stairs. 
You  find  all  this,"  turning  to  me,  "  echt  Deutsch,  genuinely  Ger- 
man, I  dare  say  !  We  hear  ladies  never  trouble  themselves  about 
such  things  in  America."  I-  assured  her  it  was  quite  a  mistake  ;  it 
depended  entirely  on  the  lady's  position  and  circumstances.  "  Well, 
you  at  least  see  a  difference  in  the  place  a  lady  occupies  in  the  two 
countries  ! "  they  continued,  "  confess  that  your  American  lady  is 
very  much  flattered." 

In  the  large  cities,  I  allowed  it  was  so  often  ;  "  butjn  the  country 
and  in  our  small  towns  you  will  find  our  ladies  as  sensibly  treated 
as  you  could  desire ;  and  many  of  them  are  good  housekeepers." 
Still  I  told  them,  I  had  beforehand  expected  one  difference,  and  I 


WOMAN'S    POSITION.  331. 

had  found  it  everywhere  the  fact.  They  inquired  what  it  was,  and 
why  I  had  expected  it  ? 

"  I  have  always  observed,"  said  I,  "  in  your  literature,  in  the 
jorrespondcnce  of  your  cultivated  people,  that  the  women  very  sel- 
dom are  allowed  to  hold  as  high  a  position,  as  with  us.  Now  take 
that  life  and  correspondence  of  Richter,  a  man  who  had  the  most 
exalted  theories  of  woman's  capabilities ;  and  whose  wife  was  an 
uncommonly  accomplished  person — he  always  writes  to  her  and 
treats  her,  as  if  she  were  his  housekeeper  or  head  servant.  You  see 
the  same  thing  pictured  in  his  '  Flower  and  Thorn  pieces ' — you 
have  read  that  ? " 

"  Oh,  no ;  no  one  reads  Richter  now." 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  I  think  I  see  the  same  thing  in  the  feelings  of 
the  men  generally.  They  are  afraid  of  having  women  superior  to  them  ; 
and  you  never  find,  at  a  large  table  or  in  a  company,  that  a  woman's 
words  are  listened  to  as  respectfully,  as  in  America!" 

"  Schon  !  good  ! "  said  the  ladies,  clapping  their  hands  ;  "  we 
always  said  the  same  thing.  What  do  you  say  to  that,  Herr 
'Doctor?" 

"  Oh,"  said  the  Doctor,  laughing  ;  the  Americans  like  the  women 
to  be  llauenstrumpfe — blue  stockings !  We  want  a  woman,  a 
woman.  What's  the  use  of  Greek  and  metaphysics  to  her  ?  She 
must  know  how  to  -ssveep  and  cook,  and  take  care  of  the  children — 
that  will  do  for  her  ! " 

"As  for  Richter,"  said  the  Advocat,  "he's  no  authority  ;  we  all 
know  he  drank  brandy  and  water  too  hard  the  last  few  years,  to 
write  to  any  one  decently." 

"  Yes  ;  it  was  traurig — melancholy  !"  said  the  Candidat,  who 
had  been  listening  in  siience  thus  far. 

"  No,  Doctor,"  said  I,  "  we  want  no  blue  stockings  ;  but  we  do 


SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


want  a  woman  to  be  something  more  than  a  housekeeper.  We 
believe  that  woman's  education  is  only  just  in  its  commencement 
now.  We  cannot  see  a  reason,  why  a  person  of  the  finest  capa- 
cities, and  destined  in  life  to  exert  the  greatest  influence  which  one 
human  being  can  ever  exert  over  another — a  mother's — should  be 
cut  off  in  her  intellectual  training,  just  where  we  begin.  We  think 
that  a  woman  should  in  every  respect  be  equal  to  a  man,  in  which 
her  nature  is  capable  of  being  equal.  We  want  a  companion,  a 
friend  in  a  woman — not  a  servant." 

"  Vortre.ff.icli  !  excellent ! "  said  the  ladies. 

"  But,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  see  how  it  would  be !  AVe  should  have 
a  whole  race  of  '  emancipated  women  ; '  each  knowing  a  little  Greek, 
or  Hebrew,  or  Philosophy ;  and  then  thinking  that  she  knew 
everything.  Look  at  .these  pedant-women  now — pah  !  there's 

Madame  T ,  who  always  turns  everything  into  its  relation  to 

the  Kantean  system,  and  who  lets  your  coffee  get  cold,  while  she  is 
lecturing!  I  would  rather  have  a  Bavarian  apple-woman  for  a 
wife  ! " 

"  And  very  pretty  women  they  are  too,  I  can  tell  you,"  said  the 
Advocat,  "  especially  the  Munich,  in  the  little  gilt  caps." 

"Besides,"  he  continued,  "  a  woman  cannot  in  all  respects  equal 
a  man,  intellectually ;  and  she  cannot  have  time,  at  least  in  our  poor 
country,  to  study  metaphysics  and  the  cook-book  at  once.  She 
must  not  neglect  the  household  ! " 

"But,"  said  one  of  the  young  ladies,  "it  is  all  the  fault  of  you 
men.  .  If  you  would  do  with  fewer  puddings,  we  should  have  more 
time.  Every  one  pt  u^  could  learn  all  that  is  necessary  in  house- 
keeping in  one-tenth  of  the  time  we  spend  at  it.  It  is  your 
luxuries,  which  make  us  so  busy." 

"  You  must  let  me  explain   myself,"  said  I.     "  Remember,  we 


LUNCH.  333 


Americans  do  not  want  learned  women,  but  educated  women. 
What  we  desire  is  not  books  and  languages  and  metaphysics,  and 
all  that,  but  the  result  of  these — the  power  of  thinking  aud  appre- 
ciating. I  believe  generally  among  the  most  highly  educated  peo- 
ple, there  is  the  least  said  about  the  means.  We  do  not  care  what 
books  a  man  has  read,  or  how  many  languages  he  knows ;  but  we 
ask,  can  he  think  for  himself?  Has  he  thoughts  and  judgments 
which  are  worth  hearing  ?  So  with  a  woman.  I  conceive  that  a 
woman  will  cook  a  turkey  better,  for  being  educated." 

"  No,  no  ;  "  said  my  opponent,  "  she  will  put  salt  into  the  Pfan- 
ntkuchen,  (pan-cakes)  instead  of  sugar,  like  our  learned  Friiulein  C., 
when  she  was  so  absorbed  in  the  study  of  the  early  Greek  tragedy. 
Besides,  what's  the  use  ?  She  never  has  been  equal  with  man ; 
and  she  never  can  be." 

"If  learning  were  common  among  women,  there  would  not  be 
these  difficulties,"  I  replied.  "  No  woman  is  conceited  now  because 
she  knows  French.  We  do  not  expect,  that  she  will  be  equal  to 
man  in  all  respects,  but  we  think  she  has  some  finer  and  superior 
capacities.  As  for  her  neglecting  her  natural  duties  at  home,  I  sup- 
pose her  instincts  would  always  restrain  her.  One  of  our  writers 
says,  that  probably  no  woman  would  ever  desert  an  infant  for  a 
quadratic  equation ! " 

"  Will  you  close  the  discussion  in  a  friendly  way,"  said  one  of  our 
hostesses,  coining  in,  "  by  first  trying  alittle  of  our  German  housekeep- 
ing ?  Lunch  is  ready !"  and  we  all  walked  out  informally  to  the 
dining-room,  where  we  found  a  table  set  with  flowers  and  some 
pretty  fruit  from  the  conservatories,  Wurst,  tongue,  bread  and  but- 
ter, and  beer.  My  friend  also  came  in,  and  the  talk  went  round 
with  animation.  "  There's  nothing  I  do  so  envy  you  Germans,"  said 
I  to  a  young  lady  next  me,  "  as  your  bread  /" 


334  SOCIAL   LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


"  Why  !  do  not  you  have  good  bread  in  America  ?" 

"  Very  seldom.  I  suppose  it  is  owing  to  our  yeast  not  being 
much  obtained  from  breweries.  Our  bread  is  always  too  heavy 
or  too  light." 

"  That  is  a  misfortune !  But  you  must  go  to  Vienna,  if  you 
•would  eat  good  bread  !  and  such  puddings  !  The  Strudel !  Have 
you  those  much  in  America,  Ilerr  B.  ?" 

"Oh  yes.  We  eat  all  that  kind  of  dishes,  much  more  than 
you  here.  The  universal  breakfast  over  the  whole  land,  of  rich 
and  poor  almost,  are  these  PfcmneJcuchen  of  buckwheat  or  Turkish 
corn,  eaten  with  molasses,  or  syrup.  I  suppose  you  never  tasted 
any  syrup  ?" 

>  "  No,  not  that  refined  syrup,  though  we  have  heard  in  the  books 
very  much  about  it.  But  what  a  droll  breakfast !  You  must  eat 
sweets  a  great  deal  more  than  we." 

Our  attention,  here  was  called,  by  a  growing  discussion  between 
the  Doctor  and  our  host  upon  "Free  Trade. 

"Mein  lieber  Freund,"  said  the  Doctor,  "you  will  find  Austria  is 
ruining  herself  by  her  close  protective  system.  She  has  been 
obliged,  it  is  true,  to  raise  every  kreutzer  possible  on  account  of  her 
debt,  but  those  heavy  duties  are  crushing  very  much  of  her  re- 
sources. See  the  change  in  the  export  of  wool  alone,  both  from 
Hungary  and  the  other  provinces.  She  may  have  built  up  one  or 
two  manufactures,  though  T  doubt  that,  but  her  general  agricultural 
interest  is  exceedingly  damaged.  Depend  upon  it,  you  cannot  in- 
terfere with  the  natural  laws  of  trade,  without  injury.  I  believe 
that  with  these  enormous  prices  of  foreign  articles  in  -Austria,  these 
few  inflated  manufactures,  and  the  depressed  condition  of  the  agri- 
culture, there  will  soon  be  a  tremendous  crash." 

Our  host  argued  in  return,  that  very  many  of  the  difficulties  in 


FREE-TRADE.  835 

the  Austrian  Empire,  resulted  from  the  wasteful  expenditure  on 
armies,  &c.,  and  that  at  least,  the  condition  of  the  linen  and  silk 
manufactures,  and  the  coarse  cottons,  spoke  favorably  for  the  high 
tariffs. 

"  No,"  said  the  Free  Trader,  "  it  does  not.  They  have  gained  to 
the  loss  of  the  other  interests  of  the  Empire.  And  it  will  be  equally 
so  here,  if  we  unite  with  the  Austmns  on  a  high  protective  system. 
Prussia  has  now  in  our  Customs'  Uuion,  tariff  enough.  It  is  a 
pity  that  all  Germany  has  not  a  common  system  of  tariff,  but  when 
we  do  have  one,  it  should  be  based  on  the  lowest  protection  or  on 
Free  Trade.  I  do  hope  we  shall  carry  this  out  eventually." 

"  But,"  said  the  other,  "  our  silk  and  iron  manufactures  demand 
more  protection.  They  say,  they  can  do  nothing  against  the  French 
and  English." 

a  Well,  if  they  cannotjet  them  sink.  Why  should  we  pay  more 
for  an  article,  merely  because  it  is  made  here.  Of  course,  Prussia 
must  always  be  more  or  less  dependent  on  others.  It  is  strange, 
people  do  not  understand  this  here.  Everywhere  else  in  the  world, 
the  tendency  is  to  a  liberal  system.  Belgium  has  just  renounced 
her  old  protective  theories.  Holland  has  had  low  tariffs  for  some 
years.  Sardinia  offers  free  trade  to  all,  who  will  return  it  to  her. 
England  grows  rich  on  it,  and  America  tends  more  and  more  to  it 
every  year — though  your  Secretary  Corwin,"  turning  to  me,  "has 
some  most  maedieval  ideas  on  the  subject.  Then  the  only  parts  of 
Germany,  which  ever  have  been  really  prosperous,  in  a  mercantile  re- 
spect, have  always  been  free  traders.  Bremen,  Hamburg,  Frankfort 
— the  Hanse-towns." 

"  Still  they  are  only  commercial  cities,"  the  other  replied. 

"Not  at  all.  Hamburg  has  now  most  flourishing  manufactures. 
There  is  one  of  the  largest  factories  in,  Europe  there — the  Meyers, 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


built  up  under  free-trade — a  factory,  which  imports  its  wood,  &c., 
from  America,  and  sends  back  the  same  in  canes  and  whips  to 
America  /" 

"  A  poor  business  for  the  United  States,"  said  the  other. 

"  Gar  nicht ! — not  at  all !  or  they  would  have  forfnd  it  out.  In- 
genuity is  paid  for  better,  somewhere  else." 

I  inquired,  here,  what  the  policy  of  Prussia  would  probably  be  in 
this  matter. 

"  We  cannot  tell,"  said  the  Free  Trader  ;  "  the  Government  has 
no  fixed  policy,  and  the  people  in  general  know  nothing  about  the 
subject.  If  we  decline  this  high  Protective  Union  offered  by  Aus- 
tria, it  will  be  more  because  we  hate  Austria,  than  because  we  like 
Free  Trade.  There  are  some  manifestly  absurd  provisions  in  the 
present  Tariff — eepecially  in  determining  the  duties  by  weight — 
which  we  shall  induce  Government  to  change.  We  are  arousing 
the  thinking  men  everywhere,  and  holding  meetings  continually — 
by  the  way,  there  is  one  next  Monday  evening  in  the  Englisclien 
Gasthaus  ;  will  you  attend  ? — and  we  hope  gradually  to  bring  our 
policy  away  from  the  protective  system." 

We  now  returned  again  to  the  drawing-room,  and  sat  chatting  or 
reading,  or  amusing  ourselves,  as  each  one  pleased,  the  rest  of  the 
morning.  The  young  ladies  were  surprisingly  industrious ;  the 
daughters  of  our  host  running  out  every  few  minutes  to  see  to  the 
household  arrangements,  and  the  others  keeping  up  an  incessant 
sewing  or  embroidery-work. 

I  speculated  in  myself  then  and  have  often  since,  as  to  the  differ- 
ence between  German  ladies  of  this  class  and  ours  at  home.  There 
is  a  great  contrast,  though  precisely  where,  it  is  somewhat  difficult 
to  say.  Nearly  all  those  in  this  company  spoke  several  different 
languages  yet  there  was  singularly  little  interest  in  books  or  litera- 


GERMAN  WOMEN.  337 

ture  among  them.  At  first,  too,  you  would  have  said  that  they 
were  very  free  and  independent  in  thought,  and  you  would  have 
given  them  credit  for  earnest  investigations,  which  had  brought  out 
such  free  results ;  but,  after  a  little  while,  you  would  find  that  Free- 
dom of  thought  was  their  Orthodoxy,  and  that  their  independent 
thoughts  were  merely  the  echo  of  what  they  had  beeu  taught.  You 
would  see,  that  the  attaining  these  results,  had  not  required  at  all 
the  mental  or  moral  power  which  the  same  would  with  us.  Yet,  with 
them  all,  there  was  a  very  happy  natural  intelligence  and  quickness ;  on 
the  whole,  however,  much  less  culture  and  power  of  original  thought 
or  reasoning,  than  with  ladies  in  the  same  rank  of  life  at  home.  Where 
they  were  superior,  was  in  a  certain  individuality,  a  certain  simpli- 
city, and  natural  following-out  of  their  own  bent  and  tendencies ; 
and,  also,  in  a  spontaneous  easy  expression  of  themselves. 

Our  ladies  at  home,  especially  in  New  England,  strike  one  as  too 
.  much  cut  in  the  same  pattern,  as  under  a  similar  mould — not  intel- 
lectually, but  in  their  habits,  tendencies,  sentiments.  It  is  seldom 
you  meet  any  one  with  us,  either  man  or  woman,  who  comes  before 
you  as  a  spontaneous,  natural  person — one  who  really  feels  and  ex- 
presses feeling,  as  she  has  it,  and  not  as  she  thinks  it  "proper"  to 
have  it,  or  as  she  is  taught  she  should  have  it. 

A  New  Englander,  like  an  Englishman,  is  for  ever  thinking,  "  What 
will  others  say  ? "  or  he  is  dreading  "  humbug  ;"  or  an.  iron  system 
of  duty  and  obligation  has  been  around  him  so  long,  that  it  has 
crushed  in  his  easy,  spontaneous  impulse?". 

In  each  of  these  German  women  there  was  a  greater  distinctness 
of  nature  ;  a  play  of  passion  and  feeling,  which  might  be  ill-governed 
sometimes,  but  which  was  very  beautiful  because  it  was  hers,  and 
was  the  effect  of  no  instruction  or  public  opinion.  The  Continental 
people  seem  to-  me,  in  general,  to  show  more  of  that  most  pleasing 
15 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


and  exquisite  variety  of  nature,  which  GOD  has  bestowed  on  all  His 
works,  and  which  no  Creed  and  no  System  has  the  right  to  mar. 

It  is  possible  the  "-expression"  here  was  much  improved  by  the 
full  and  sweet  tones  of  these  ladies.  I  know  not  why  it  is,  but  our 
Yankee  schools  or  Yankee  air,  has  given  rise  to  the  most  disagree-* 
able  intonation,  which  any  where  disfigures  the  voices  of  a  cultivated 
people.  An  American  (from  the  Northern  States)  is  known  almost 
any  where  in  Europe,  from  his  nasal  twang  and  whine. 

Want  of  refinement  and  education  will  produce  in  every  country, 
bad  modulations  and  tones  of  voice,  which  even  in  different  lan- 
guages, do  not  essentially  differ  from  one  another.  But  in  Amer- 
ica, people  the  most  refined  show  this  nasal  defect  of  tone.  It  is 
comparatively  rare,  in  New  England,  to  meet  a  lady  without  some 
tinge  of  it,  and  the  preachers  manifest  it  almost  universally.  I  have 
no  doubt  that  if  any  one  physical  cause  could  explain  the  superior 
natural  oratory  in  our  Southern  States,  during  our  whole  history,  it 
would  be  their  superiority  in  voice.  It  is  remarkable  how  seldom 
the  Americans  themselves  are  conscious  of  this  defect. 

Throughout  Europe — especially,  however,  in  Ireland  and  Hun- 
gary— this  richness  of  tone  struck  my  ear. 

Strange !  the  power  of  the  human  voice,  when  strung  with  genu- 
ine passion,  or  when  bursting  up,  as  it  were,  directly  from  the  deep 
places  of  the  heart !  I  have  listened  to  tones  in  those  old  Irish 
homesteads,  and  I  have  heard  voices  by  that  death-bed  of  a  Nation — 
in  Hungary — voices  of  home-affection,  of  sorrow,  of  love  for  nativo 
land  which  many  waters  should  not  quench,  of  indignation  at  long- 
suffered  injustice,  which  thrill  constantly  anew  with  an*  -undiminished 
power  over  my  memory,  and  to  whose  tones,  the  chords  of  my  soul 
cannot  cease  to  vibrate,  while  they  move  to  any  feeling. 

In  our  rather  desultory  conversation,  I  was  answering  their  ques- 


PHRENOLOGY.  339 


tions  about  America,  and  philosophizing  in  traveller  style  upon  the 
differences  of  our  two  nations,  when  I  said  something  about  the 
shape  of  head  of  the  Germans,  and  the  breadth  of  the  front  part  as 
greater  than  in  the  American,  corresponding  to  their  greater  ideality 
and  hopefulness. 

"  What !  you  do  not  believe  in  that,  Herr  B.  ?  "  said  one. 

"  Certainly  I  do,"  I  replied. 

"  But  is  it  possible,"  said  the  Candidat  from  Halle,  "  that  Phreno- 
logy is  generally  believed  in  America  ?  " 

No  ;  I  told  him  ;  it  was  not.  It  had  been  so  much  employed  as 
a  humbug,  that  most  sensible  people  quite  doubted  it. 

"What  is  that?  ffoomboocf  Herr  B.,M  said  one  of  the  ladies. 
"Explain !"  I  translated  it  as  well  as  I  could,  for  the  German  lan- 
guage is  not  capable  of  conveying  that  compendious  term  in  one 
word. 

"  We  here  believe,"  said  the  theologian,  "  that  Phrenology  is  a 
materialistic  system ;  and  inconsistent  with  the  idea  of  the  free 
agency,  which  the  Holy  Scriptures  teach.  Besides,  to  use  your  own 
word,  Germany  has  found  the  humbug  so  much  in  Phrenology,  that 
the  educated  (gebildete)  do  not  have  any  confidence  in  it."  - 

In  reply,  I  unfolded  my  own  ideas  of  the  science,  and  I  must  do 
the  Germans  the  justice  to  say,  that  they  have  the  most  courteous 
and  candid  way  possible  of  listening  to  new  theories.  If  you  should 
present  an  argument  which  denied  your  opponent's  identity,  or  which 
proved  that  the  moon  was  made  of  green  cheese,  a  German  would 
always  listen  with  attention,  as  if  there  was  a  possibility  of  there 
being  some  basis  of  truth,  somewhere  in  it.  I  told  them,  that  we 
did  not  believe  that  the  brain  determined  the  mind,  but  that  certain 
traits  or  rather  tendencies  of  the  soul  were  connected  with  certain 
shapes  of  the  head,  just  as  they  were  with  certain  shapes  of  the 


340  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 

features.  And  that  the  value  of  the  science  to  me,  was  not  in 
the  manipulation,  or  in  the  determination  of  character  from  the  head, 
but  in  its  analysis  of  human  nature.  It  was  the  only  practical 
mental  philosophy  which  I  knew.  It  was  the.  only  one  which 
analyzed  and  put  together  tendencies  (Eigenschaften)  of  character, 
and  showed  the  results  which  they  form  in  the  every-day  develop- 
ments of  human  nature.  It  did  not  so  much  make  a  strict  meta- 
physical division  of  the  mental  faculties,  as  it  took  up  and  explained 
the  separate  tendencies,  which  lie  as  it  were  at  the  basis  of  each 
soul,  and  which  shape  human  nature,  as  it  practically  is,  in  the 
various  relations  of  life.  The  old  systems  favored  abstract  thought 
on  the  human  mind,  and  the  searching  of  one's  deepest  conscious- 
ness. This  concerned  itself  more  with  the  observation  of  human 
nature,  as  it  appears  around  us.  I  thought  its  value  as  a  practical 
philosophy  could  not  be  better  shown,  than  by  the  universal  use  of 
its  terms,  now  through  both  England  and  America. 

As  to  its  Craniology,  its  division  of  organs  on  the  head,  I  con- 
sidered it  defective ;  yet  in  its  main  principles,  I  had  never  known 
it  fail  with  any  head. 

They  all  listened  very  courteously,  though  I  suppose  with  perfect 
scepticism ;  and  it  was  proposed  I  should  make  a  trial  on  some  of 
their  heads. 

I  may  say  here,  that  of  all  means  of  entertainment,  in  a  set  of 
ale-house  tipplers,  among  a  ship's  crew,  or  in  a  fashionable  drawing- 
room,  before  gentle  or  simple,  I  have  never  found  anything  half  so 
taking,  as  a  phrenological  examination.  To  the  traveller,  Phreno- 
logy is  worth  a  host  of  accomplishments.  ^  gj 

Though  a  no  very  good  "  manipulator,"  I  made  some  good  hits 
here ;  and  we  kept  up  the  laugh  for  some  time,  until  the  old  ser- 


COOKERY.  341 


vant  put  his  head  in  the  door,  and  bawled,  "  The  dinner  is  on  the 
table."  " 

The  dinner  in  Berlin  is  usually  at  one  o'clock,  except  when  com- 
pany is  invited,  when  it  is  delayed  to  three  or  four  o'clock,  after  the 
business  hours  are  over.  Our  dining-room  here  was  a  high,  bare 
room,  with  walls  and  ceilings  painted  in  pretty  patterns,  a  tall  white 
porcelain  stove  in  one  corner,  and  a  sofa,  together  with  a  few  plain 
articles,  by  way  of  furniture.  There  was  no  carpet  on  the  floor,  and 
the  room  had  in  general  a  naked  aspect.  It  was  used  mostly  as  a 
dancing-room. 

The  table  was  very  prettily  set  out ;  the  desert-fruit  and  flowers 
being  in  the  centre,  and  a  handsome  show  of  Dresden  china  and  of 
graceful  dishes,  surrounding  them.  No  grace  was  said ;  and  one 
of  the  young  ladies  commenced  at  once  by  helping  the  soup,  which 
was  passed  by  the  servant. 

"  How  find  you  the  German  cookery  ? "  said  the  lady  next  to  me, 
in  English.  I  told  her,  I  liked  it  very  much— much  better  than 
travellers  generally  do — especially  the  soups. 

"  The  travellers  judge  so  from  our  guest-houses — inns,  I  mean  ; 
where  much  fat  is  employed.  But  have  you  not  the  soups  ? " 

"  We  had  them,"  I  said,  "  but  nearly  always  cooked  so  as  to  be 
indigestible." 

"  That  is  very  unfortunate,  for  we  regard  them  the  healthiest 
victual." 

After  the  soup  came  the  boiled  beef,  cut  up  in  small  pieces,  and 
handed  by  the  servant  to  each  one.  This  is  eaten  without  vegeta- 
bles. This  was  succeeded  by  small  bits  of  a  roast  chicken  passed 
again  to  each,  and  eaten  with  pickles  and  preserves.  The  Bordeaux 
red  wine  was  now  passed,  our  host  pouring  first  a  few  drops  in  his 
own  glass,  and  then  helping  his  right  hand  guest  When  -he  pours 


342  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


the  last  glass,  it  is  the  custom  for  him  to  empty  the  last  drops  also 
into  his  own  glass.  This  wine  is  not  stronger  than  claret,  which  it 
very  much  resembles.  No  lady  in  the  company  took  wine.  I  ob- 
served, that  both  gentlemen  and  ladies  used  finger  and  teeth  on  the 
chicken,  in  primitive  fashion — a  common  habit  of  ordinary  life  in 
Germany.  Our  middle  course,  was  a  pudding  and  sauce,  after  which 
came  the  great  dish  of  roast  beef,  the  only  meat  carved  by  the  host 
at  the  table,  eaten  with  various  vegetables. 

"  Is  this  quite  different  from  your  home  dinners  ? "  said  the  lady 
at  my  side  again. 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  "  I  replied,  and  described  our  American  meals. 
"  So !   pudding  last !  how  droll !     But  which  think  you  most 
healthy?" 

I  thought  the  German  diet,  especially  as  her  countrymen  did  not 
eat  so  much  pies  and  pastry,  as  we  Americans ;  and  despite  the 
long  meals,  were  not  so  hearty  eaters. 

"  Ach  !  Here  comes  the  dish  of  dishes  ! — the — pardon  !  how 
call  you  it  ? " 

"  Salad  !  "  and  each  one  set  to  work,  preparing  his  mixture,  as 
for  the  especial  dish  of  the  day.  Through  the  courses,  all  ate  very 
slowly,  and  conversation  continued  in  the  liveliest  manner. 

"  Now,  confess  !  Herr  B. ;  is  not  this  infinitely  more  comfortahble, 
than  the  rich  English  dinners  ? " 

"  That  is  a  genuine  English  word,  you  know,"  said  I,  "  and  the 
English  think  they  have  comfort  in  perfection." 

"  Ach  !  no  ;"  she  replied,"  I  have  been  at  those  dinners  in  Eng- 
land. They  are  horrible !  So  stiff.  I  could  not  dare  .to  say,  once  ! 
We  Germans  do  not  find  comfort  in  sofas,  and  carpets,  and  the  wine  ; 
our  comfort  is  in  friends  and  conversation,  and  in  the  feeling.  You 
know  our  word.  I  find  it  better — gemuthlich? 


COFFEE.  348 


Our  last  course  was  black  unbolted  rye  bread  and  butter,  with  a 
little  fruit  and  confectionery,  and  after  some  farther  chatting,  the 
whole  company  went  to  the  drawing-room,  for  the  coffee,  and  the 
gentlemen  to  smoke. 

"  How  much  more  pleasant  is  this,"  said  my  companion  as  we 
went  out,  "  as  your  English  way  to  leave  the  gentlemen  to  drink  and 
talk  without  ladies — as  if  you  were  ashamed." 

"  I  think  so  too ;"  I  replied,  "  we  seldom  do  that  in  America. 
But  how  can  you  housekeepers  bear  this  smoking  in  your  par- 
lors ?  I  should  think  you  would  be  obliged  to  smoke  yourself,  for 
defence." 

"  No  ?  "Why  should  we  oppose  it  ?  Is  it  not  better  for  them  to 
be  in  habit  to  smoke  with  us;"  than  without  us  ?  Beside  it  never 
trouble  me.  I  like  it  now.  But  do  not  think  we  smoke.  No  re 
spectable  lady  smokes." 

"  I  see  Fraiilein  N.  is  making  the  coffee,"  said  I,  "  Do  you  never 
leave  it  to  servants  ?" 

"  Oh  no,"  she  replied,  "it  would  never  be  so  good.  We  always 
make  it  fresh  on  the  table,  for  it  must  not  long  kochen — what  is 
the  word — boil.  It  only  drops  very  slowly  through  a — a — cross- 
ing of—" 

"  Sieve,"  I  suggested. 

"  Ja!  a  sieve  and  paper  very  thin.  But  have  you  good  coffee  in 
America  ?" 

"  No  ;  not  often.  I  have  very  seldom  drank  good  coffee,  at  least 
in  a  hotel.  We  do  not  know  how  to  make  it.'' 

"  Here  is  your  coffee.  You  must  put  no  cream  in  it,  but  sugar 
much.  Will  you  light  your  cigar?" 

"Danke  Ihntn." 


344  SOCIAL   LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


"  Have  you  not  as  yet  learned,  Herr  B.,  that  thank  you,  in  Ger- 
man, always  means,  nein — no?" 

I  told  her  I  ought  to  have  learned,  for  I  had  lost  many  a  dish 
at  public  tables,  by  saying  Danke  !  to  the  servants  when  they  of- 
fered it. 

After  our  coffee,  came  various  games  and  merrimakings  till  even- 
ing. Other  friends  called  with  presents  and  mementoes  to  the  Frau 
Mutter  •  good  wishes  were  said  and  pleasant  speeches  made,  and  at 
length,  after  a  hearty  supper  at  10  o'clock,  on  broiled  sturgeon  and 
Bavarian  beer,  the  company  broke  up,  with  abundance  of  Adieus 
and  Empfehle  michs,  and  Good  byes  for  me.  « 

On  reaching  my  lodgings,  I  found  I  had  left  my  key  inside — a 
rather  blank  prospect,  as  it  would  be  too  late  probably  to  find  a 
room  in  a  hotel.  In  the  midst  of  my  cogitations,  I  heard  a  cry  far 
up-street  of  "  Wachter  /"  and  I  remembered  there  was  a  useful 
member  of  the  community,  who  patrolled 'the  streets  at  night,  with 
keys  of  the  houses,  to  be  furnished  for  a  few  groschen,  to  any  luck- 
less individual,  who  was  locked  out  like  myself. 

So  I  commenced  in  a  stentorian  voice,  "  Wachter,  Wd-a-chter  /" 

"  What  the  devil  are  you  yelling  in  that  way  for  ?"  said  a  voice 
close  by,  and  I  found  one  of.  the  night-police  in  helmet  and  sword 
just  behind  me,  looking  in  anything  but  a  Christian  humor. 

I  answered  shortly  that  "  I  wanted  to  get  in  !" 

"  Well,  you  need  not  make  such  a of  a  noise,  if  you  do  !" 

"  Every  one  does  it,  I  hear  the  cry  every  night,"  said  I,  as  the 
Wachter  came  up  and  turned  the  lock,  "  and  you  might  learn  a  more 
civil  way  of  addressing  a  stranger!"  I  added,  at  the  same  time,  dis- 
creetly getting  inside  the  door. 


CHAPTER  XXXIY. 

THE    UNIVERSITY RATIONALISM. 

AN  account  of  Berlin  society  as  it  appears  to  an  American,  wouW 
be  altogether  incomplete  without  speaking  of  the  many  American 
students  who  are  attending  the  University,  and  who  have  met  in 
such  pleasant  circles  this  winter  at  the  houses  of  Mr.  Barnard, 
our  Ambassador,  and  of  Mr.  Fay.  They  are  in  general  very  inte'li- 
gent,  gentlemanly  fellows,  and1  far  better  representatives  of  our 
country  than  one  usually  meets  in  the  travelling  public  of  Europe. 
A  large  proportion  are  from  our  Southern  States. 

The  choice  of  studies  among  the  working  part  of  these  young 
men  here  and  in  other  universities  of  Germany  is  remarkable,  and 
seems  almost  to  show  a  new  tendency  in  our  studying  classes.  One 
for  instance  is  engaged  in  investigating  the  whole  family  of  lan- 
guages related  to  the  Anglo  Saxon,  with  a  view  of  explaining  the 
early  English  literature  ;  another  is  at  work  on  the  Sanscrit  and  kin- 
dred tongues,  with  a  special  reference  to  philology ;  others  on  the 
study  of  music  as  a  science  ;  others  on  the  higher  branches  of  che- 
mistry ;  and  one  with  an  enthusiasm  most  worthy  of  success  hss 
travelled  through  many  difficulties  to  Berlin  to  gather  the  documents 
for  a  Life,  of  Beethoven,  and  intends  even  to  walk  to  Vienna  to  col- 
lect the  last  materials  for  his  work. 
15* 


346  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


The  day  has  probably  passed  by  in  our  country,  in  which  such 
studies  as  these  can  be  objected  to  as  "  unpractical."  It  is  begin- 
ning to  be  seen  that  human  life  is  made  up  of  a  great  many  parts, 
and  helped  on  by  a  great  many  different  pursuits,  and  that  Sanscrit 
has  its  place  among  them  as  well  as  shoe-making.  For  one  I  am 
rejoiced  at  the  work  these  men  are  doing.  The  reproach  against 
our  nation  in  an  intellectual  respect  has  been  its  superficiality — and 
without  doubt,  often  deserved.  Such  workers  as  these,  for  they  are 
hearty,  faithful  students,  will  do  much  with  the  immense  advantages 
offered  by  German  libraries  to  remove  this  reproach,  and  to  give  a 
more  thorough  direction  to  the  Mind  of  our  country.  Nor  is  there 
danger  to  be  feared  for  our  students,  from  the  influence  of  foreign 
institutions  in  Germany.  If  anything  would  make  a  man  republi- 
can or  disposed  to  give  the  very  highest  value  to  the  "  practical,"  it 
would  be  an  experience  of  the  infinite  confusions  and  inefficiency 
which  appear  now  in  German  affairs,  and  of  the  political  oppression 
which  curses  the  people. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  older  students,  there  is  a  most  de- 
cided objection  to  the  practice,  now  beginning  to  be  common  in  our 
country,  of  sending  boys  to  these  foreign  Universities.  Not  to  men- 
tion the  want  of  sympathy  it  almost  invariably  causes  with  our  own 
institutions  in  the  student's  mind ;  and  the  weakening  influence  it 
has  on  his  power  to  use  his  own  language — a  loss  not  to  be  replaced 
by  a  knowledge  of  all  the  foreign  languages  in  existence ; — it  is  be- 
side a  most  terrible  experiment.  No  one  has  any  idea  of  the  dan- 
gers which  surround  a  young  man  in  these  foreign  Universities. 
Even  in  the  worst  of  our  Colleges  there  is  some  irlimmering  of  the 
good  old  religious  influences  of  our  fathers  ;  there  is  the  restraint  of 
acquaintances  and  the  fear  of  future  loss  of  reputation.  Here,  of 
all  these  good  influences,  there  is  scarcely  one  which  can  still  work. 


THE    UNIVERSITY.  347 


Some  of  our  good  parents  appear  to  have  a  great  confidence  in 
Berlin,  as  the  centre  of  Protestantism,  and  in  its  orthodox  influences. 
But  it  is  a  most ,  sad  mistake.  Iti  my  view  there  is  but  one  city  • 
more  dangerous  to  a  young  man,  on  the  Continent — Paris.  And 
Berlin  is  only  better  than  Paris  in  that  vice  here  is  more  gross,  and 
therefore  more  offensive. 

In  regard  to  Berlin,  as  a  place  of  study,  it  is  difficult  to  advise. 
The  choice  of  a  University  depends  so  much  on  the  personal  plans 
of  each  student.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Berlin  University  is 
not  by  any  means  equal  to  what  it  was  a  few  years  since.  The  loss 
of  such  men  as  NEANDER,  and  JACOBI,  and  LACHMANN  in  one  year 
has  made  no  slight  difference.  Still,  now,  in  all  branches  there  is 
quite  enough  of  talent  to  satisfy  even  the  most  fastidious  student. 
Where  such  men  as  RANKE,  and  HITTER,  and  BOCKH,  and  BOPP, 
and  HENGSTENBERG  teach,  there  can  be  no  very  great  deficiency 
The  usual  course  among  the  foreign  students  is  to  try  different  Uni- 
versities, avoiding  Berlin  in  the  summer,  as  it  is  an  exceedingly  hot, 
unpleasant  city  at  that  season.  The  expense  of  living  in  Berlin  is 
small  compared  with  that  of  our  own  cities,  yet  it  is  nearly  double 
the  expense  of  the  smaller  University  towns.  A  student  could  live 
here  very  comfortably  I  think,  on  $300  a  year,  including  the  cost  of 
clothing  and  every  necessary  article  except  books. 

As  a  place  for  learning  German,  Berlin  is  not  at  all  to  be  recom- 
mended. There  are  so  many  Americans  and  Englishmen  whom  one 
would  not,  if  he  could,  avoid  ;  so  many  Germans  who  speak  excel- 
lent English ;  and  it  is  so  difficult  to  board  in  any  private  family, 
where  practice  in  the  language  could  be  gained,  that  almost  every 
foreigner  residing  here,  finds  his  progress  in  German  very  slow. 
Still  as  a  place  where  German  life  in  its  most  interesting  aspect  can 
be  observed,  where  German  politics  and  religious  movements  can  be 


348  SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


best  studied,  where  Music  in  its  highest  forms  can  be  enjoyed,  where 
the  most  intellectual  and  accomplished  society  of  the  Continent  has 
gathered  itself,  Berlin  is  of  all  others,  the  city  to  be  chosen  by  a  for- 
eigner for  a  residence. 

I  cannot  bid  good-bye  to  Berlin  without  speaking  of  a  gentleman 
there  to  whom  every  American  who  has  been  of  late  years  in  that 
city  must  feel  sincerely  grateful, — Mr.  Theodore  S.  Fay,  at  present 
the  Secretary  of  the  Embassy.  A  man  in  whom  fifteen  years  of 
diplomatic  life  have  not  worn  away  manly  simplicity  and  truth 
of  character;  one  in  whom  we  can  see  that  the  purest  Christian 
traits  are  not  inconsistent  with  the  refinement  and  accomplishments  of 
a  man  of  the  world.  A  genuine  whole-hearted  republican  too,  well 
representing  our  country.  He  is  the  last  to  wish  to  be  spoken  of 
in  this  public  way ;  yet  I  cannot  refrain  from  giving  utterance  to 
what  I  know  is  the  sentiment  of  most  Americans  who  have  resided 
in  Berlin  with  regard  to  him. 


Before  leaving  North  Germany,  it  is  right  that  I  should  give  my 
general  impressions  of  a  very  important  subject ;  and  yet  it  is  a  dif- 
ficult matter,  on  which  to  speak.  I  refer  to  the  Rdigious  Character 
of  the  German  people.  Religious  Principle,  is  not  at  all  to  be  tested, 
as  many  are  accustomed  to  test  it.  Its  manifestations  must  be  as 
various,  as  are  the  forms  of  human  nature.  No  local  and  external 
mensure  can  fit  its  infinite  developments.  Especially  is  this  true  of 
the  intellectual  expression  of  religion.  Believing  that  the  worst 
heart  may  be  joined  with  the  purest  creed,  and  that  a  simple,  loving 
Faith  may  be  connected  to  the  most  wild  and  crude  opinions ;  con- 
scious that  in  our  practice  and  instincts,  we  often  reject  what  we 


RELIGIOUS    CHARACTER.  349 


professedly  believe,  I  would  never  test  a  religious  character  by  its 
usual  language  of  expression,  or  by  its  avowed  system  of  belief. 

I  had  thought  it  possible,  that  even  under  the  wild  theories,  the 
unsparing  criticism,  the  apparent  Skepticism  of  the  Germans,  I  might 
find  in  practical  life,  the  humble,  fervent,  loving  heart,  worshipping 
almost  unconsciously  to  itself,  the  Infinite  Being.  T3ut  I  am  com- 
pelled to  say,  in  my  experience  thus  far  with  the  mass  of  the  people, 
I  am  disappointed.  Religion  does  not  enter  as  a  great  element  into 
society  in  Germany.  It  is  not  a  principle  any  one  considers,  in  esti- 
mating the  influences  at  work  on  the  people.  Few  appeal  to  it,  or 
speak  of  it  as  one  of  the  great  facts  in  human  life.  Very  little  seems 
to  be  sacrificed  for  its  great  objects.  There  are  seldom  enterprises 
under  it  for  the  poor,  and  the  helpless,  and  the  unhappy.  Not  much 
is  given  or  suffered,  through  its  impulse.  There  is  seldom  expressed 
worship.  In  fact,  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  heathen  land  where 
less  outward  ceremony  of  worship  is  seen.  The  churches  are  half 
empty,  and  one  beholds  the  painful  sight  of  a  church  attended  only 
by  women  and  children,  as  if  Religion  was  a  thing  belonging  only  to 
the  weaker  part  of  the  race.  It  is  not  that  the  men  one  meets  are 
bitterly  hostile  to  religious  truth,  or  abusive  towards  it ;  but  there 
is  a  sort  of  deadness  to  the  whole  subject  among  them,  an  indif- 
ference, or  a  kind  of  smiling,  quiet  incredulity,  which  comes  over  one 
chillingly  and  sadly. — Of  course  there  are  numerous  exceptions  to 
this.  Men  with  whom  we  can  have  the  delightful  consciousness  that 
in  distant  lands,  under  foreign  languages  and  a  different  culture, 
there  is  a  certain  bond  of  sympathy  and  principles  and  common 
hopes  uniting  us  ;  about  which  little  can  be  said  in  words,  but  which 
forms  one  of  the  most  pleasing  evidences  of  a  common  Christian 
Faith.  And  I  believe,  that  in  many  of  the  families,  the  beautiful 
home-virtues — the  Affection,  and  Self-sacrifice,  and  cheerful  for- 


350  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


bearance  and  geniality,  are  the  appropriate  expressions  of  their  Love 
to  Christ;  perhaps  even  higher  than  our  bolder  and  more  heroic 
expressions.  In  what  I  have  said,  I  speak  only  of  the  mass  of  the 
people. 

There  are  favorite  aspects,  however,  to  the  effects  of  this  Ration- 
alism. It  seems  to  me  it  has  done  away  with  intellectual  narrow- 
ness very  much  from  the  theological  circles.  No  one  dares  to  step 
out  on  the  arena  now  in  Germany,  with  a  crude,  bigoted,  ill-equipped 
opinion.  He  knows  if  it  cannot  stand  the  attacks  of  .the  sharpest 
criticism  and  the  most  vigorous  philosophy,  it  must  go  down — no 
matter  if  all  the  authority  of  ages  is  at  hand  to  back  it.  The  con- 
sequence is,  the  theological  mind  of  Germany  is  very  well  furnished, 
and  possesses  a  certain  candid  mode  of  looking  at  subjects,  a  certain 
readiness  to  acknowledge  Truth  wherever  it  is,  which  has  not  been. 
a  general  virtue  in  the  theological  class.  I  meet  a  great  many  who 
belong  to  the  strictest  of  the  orthodox,  the  most  extreme  "  Pietisten" 
and  who  hold  the  Evangelical  views  with  all  the  strength  and  depth 
of  feeling  any  one  could  desire,  yet  I  have  nearly  always  found  them 
men  of  real  liberality,  ready  to  admit  that  their  own  particular  view 
did  not  embrace  all  of  the  truth,  and  disposed  to  see  what  there 
was  of  truth  in  opposite  views.  Certainly  in  no  country  of  the 
world  could  a  Theological  History  be  written  like  that  which  has 
appeared  here  within  a  few  years  from  HAGENBACH — a  work  so 
clear  and  strong  in  its  own  religious  purpose,  yet  recognizing  so  can- 
didly even  in  the  vagaries  of  a  Schiller,  or  the  Romanism  of  a 
Schlegel,  all  that  there  is  good  and  noble  in  them. 

The  man  whose  spirit,  as  we  believe,  most  works  now  in  Ger- 
many, modifying  the  influences  of  Rationalism,  and  reaching  those 
who  are  world-wide  from  him  in  their  theories  or  their  philosophy, 
is  SCHLBIERMACHER.  His  philosophy  is  passing  by,  his  merciless 


SCHLEIERMACHER.  351 


criticism  has  lost  its  power,.his  daring  speculations  are  scattered 
to  the  wind ;  but  that  simple,  fervent  spirit,  that  candid,  truth-lov- 
ing mind,  that  life  so  thoroughly  imbued  and  inspired  with  the  one 
great  TRUTH,  which,  as  we  believe,  has  been  the  life  and  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  best  spirits  through  all  ages— the  truth  of  "  GOD  MAN- 
IFEST IN  THE  FLESH,"  of  God,  made  near  to  man  through  human 
sympathies  and  a  human  life — this  all  works,  and  will  not  soon 
cease  to  work  through  the  German  people 


CHAPTEK  XXXY. 

S O U T H- G ER M AN Y    AGAIN. 

"  Es  ist  ein  barter  Schluss 

Weil  ich  aus  Berlin  muss ! 

So  schlag  'ich  Berlin  aus  dem  Sinn 

Und  wende  mich.     Gott  weiss  !  wohin ; 

Ich  will  mein  Gliick  probiren, 
^  Marschiren." 

So  humming  the  student  song,  I  bade  good-bye  to  Berlin.  My 
friends  had  parted  from  me,  as  only  German  friends  will ;  and  I  felt 
almost  like  leaving  home  for  strangers  again.  It  is  the  hardest  part 
of  traveling,  that  you  just  build  up  a  satisfactory  friendship,  when  it 
is  all  demolished,  and  you  go  on  to  new  experiences.  And  it  is 
hardest  of  all  in  Germany,  where  confidence  and  kindness  are  so 
freely  shown  the  stranger. 

I  have  found  DRESDEN  in  its  full  spring  beauty — so  green,  sunny, 
quiet,  trustful — a  beautiful  city  now.  The  parks  and  gardens  and 
squares  full  of  pleasant  groups,  the  women  sitting  sewing,  and  the 
children  playing  in  the  sunlight,  or  listening  to  the  Sands  of  music. 

Oh  !  when  will  an  American  city  learn  so  to  provide  for  its  free  pop- 
ulation, health,  beaaty,  broad  fields  and  cheerful  landscapes,  as  these 
German  princes  have  done  for  their  subjects  ? 


CHILDREN'S    GARDEN.  353 

Among  the  other  sights  I  have  come  upon,  is  a  children's  garden, 
A  merry  company  of  children,  in  bright  dresses,  are  dancing  on 
the  hard  ground  round  a  pole,  hung  with  flowers,  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  a  spruce  dancing-master.  Others  swinging,  rolling  the  hoop, 
or  running  through  the  paths  ;  others  at  some  pretty  calistheuic  exer- 
cises under  the  trees.  There  are  a  few  candy  and  cake  tables  on  the 
outskirts.  Only  two  or  three  nurses  have  the  charge  of  them,  though 
there  must  be  nearly  fifty  children  there.  It  appears,  the  mothers 
club  together,  hire  the  nurses  and  the  garden,  in  order  to  save  the 
expense  of  separate  nurses,  and  at  the  same  time  to  secure  healthful 
open  air  sports  for  the  children — an  idea,  perhaps,  worth  something 
for  our  large  cities. 


APBIL. 

I  have  just  dined  with  Eev.  Dr.  - ,  one  of  the  most  popular 

and  distinguished  preachers  in  Germany.  He  laments,  as  usual,  the 
want  of  any  earnest  Christian  life  among  the  people,  and  especially 
among  the  young  men.  You  never  meet  a  young  man  with  any 
high,  noble  aims,  unless  it  is  professional  to  have  them — the  result, 
he  says,  of  German  Rationalism.  He  thinks  we  are  getting,  in 
America,  a  very  bad  importation  of  Rationalistic  German  Theology. 
He  asked  me  what  I  thought  of  the  present  political  condition  of  Ger- 
many. I  told  him  candidly,  and  expressed  how  faint  my  hopes 
were  for  the  future. 

"  It  has  seemed  to  me  possible,"  said  I,  "  that  the  German  race  has 
played  out  its  part  in  the  world's  history — that  it  has  irretrievably 
degenerated,  lost  its  vigor,  manliness,  energy.  We  know  such 
instances  constantly  occur  in  history.  Look  at  the  old  Spaniards, 


354  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


and  the  Dutch  and  Italian  Republics,  and  compare  the  same  peoples 
and  cities  now.  Perhaps  it  is  so  with  Germany.  Perhaps,  until 
this  race  is  united  with  some  more  vigorous,  it  will  continue  to  be- 
come more  and  more  weak  and  inefficient.  I  must  confess,  I  am 
astonished  on  every  side,  at  the  practical  weakness  of  your  people. 
Even  those,  who  know  their  rights,  have  no  spirit  in  asserting 
them ! " 

"  A  bad  outlook,  certainly,  for  us  !  "  said  he.  "  You  may  be  right. 
Such  things  have  been.  Alas,  for  poor  Germany  !  Bad  government, 
and  especially  this  universal  irreligion,  have  brought  this  about ! 
But,  rnein  lieber  Herr,  have  you  no  fears  for  your  own  country — 
look  at  your  Sclaverei !  (Slavery.)  I  must  say  that  if  that  does 
ruin  your  country,  we  in  the  old  world, shall  lose  faith  in  Humanity! 
It  seems  to  me,  sometimes,  yours  is  the  last  experiment  in  self-gov- 
ernment— that  grand  English  word  ! — who  would  ever  trust  it,  if 
you  fail  ? " 

In  reply,  I  detailed  at  length  our  difficulties  in  that  matter,  and 
my  hopes,  ultimately,  of  a  change. 

He  hoped  also  ;  "  but  it  is  a  strange  fact,"  said  he,  "  and  one  that 
much  shakes  my  hopes,  that  during  all  ages  Republics  have  rested 
on  a  basis  of  slaves  !  I  have  thought  that  it  might  be  almost  ne- 
cessary to  the  system — one  class  made  intelligent  and  free,  by  being 
freed  from  menial  labor  through  the  service  of  another." 

I  was  able  easily  to  show  him,  that  our  Republic  differed  essen- 
tially in  this  from  the  Classic  States  ;  that  Slavery  with  us  was  rather 
a  fungus,  an  evil  from  without,  than  a  foundation. 

I  suppose  it  is  said  over  in  public  speeches  at  homer  no  less  than 
fifty-two  times  in  the  year  at  least,  that  the  United  States  is  the 
great  example  to  the  tyrannical  Governments  of  Europe,  and  the 
hope  and  comfort  to  the  oppressed,  &c.,  &c.  And  possibly  some 


OUR    EXAMPLE.  355 


of  us  have  beard  it  so  much,  that  we  begin  to  doubt  whether  it 
is  so  true  after  all.  But  if  one  will  only  mingle  with  the  various 
classes  of  Europe,  the  low  as  well  as  the  high ;  if  he  will  really  get 
hold  somewhat  of  the  thought  and  feeling  of  men,  he  will  not  only 
never  doubt  the  truth  of  such  expressions,  but  he  will  feel  that  he 
never  began  even  faintly  to  realize  them.  The  existence  of  our  lie- 
public  is  a  stubborn,  unconquerable  FACT,  which  speaks  more  to  the 
minds  of  the  masses  here,  than  volumes  of  argument.  The  sup- 
porters of  the  arbitrary  forms  of  Government  may  prove  most  con- 
clusively that  our  Constitution  is  defective,  that  Republics  are  not 
consistent  with  the  highest  development  of  man.  They  may  bring 
forth  beautifully  the  theories  of  monarchy,  and  show  the  divinity  of 
its  origin,  and  almost  demonstrate  its  necessity  to  mankind — but 
there,  ever  in  the  background  of  their  theories,  looms  up  over  in  the 
West,  the  great  prosperous  FREE  STATE  of  the  age — the  undeniable 
happy  existence  of  a  self-governed  people.  No  argument  can  get 
around  it  There  it  is !  People  have  become  so  well  informed  on. 
these  matters,  that  here  in  Germany  for  instance,  no  discussion  is 
ever  carried  on  in  the  Parliaments,  or  through  pamphlets,  on  any 
great  change  of  Government,  without  at  once  the  example  of  the 
United  States  being  adduced.  I  am  struck  with  that,  as  I  attempt 
to  penetrate  the  immense  mass  of  pamphlets  and  "  Debates,"  which 
any  one  must  work  through  who  would  understand  German  poli- 
tics. The  first  thing  to  be  overthrown  by  the  Legitimist  writer  or 
orator,  and  the  first  to  be  presented  by  the  Democratic,  is  nearly 
always  the  practice  in  our  Republic,  and  the  success  of  such  and 
such  a  provision  under  our  Government.  And  the  orators  in  the 
German  "  Kammer,"  will  not  unfrequently  discuss  an  article  in  our 
Constitution  with  as  much  spirit,  if  not  with  the  same  objects,  as 
the  members  of  our  House  of  Representatives  at  home. 


SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


But  I  am  bound  to  say,  there  is  another  side  to  this  picture. 
America  is  known  widely — her  glory  and  her  prosperity  ;  yet  there 
is  one  stain  on  her  escutcheon  which  is  blazoned  still  more  widely — 
Slavery.  I  sometimes  think  the  German  papers  take  a  real  pleasure 
in  giving  details  about  this  evil  of  ours.  Some  foreign  journals,  the 
Russian,  for  instance,  contain  more  about  our  slavery  difficulties, 
than  any  one  subject  connected  with  our  country.  The  first  objec- 
tion you  meet  in  an  anti-democratic  pamphlet  against  the  "  Model 
Republic,"  is  the  system  of  oppression  within  it.  I  have  often  won- 
dered to  myself,  how  a  Southern  gentleman  could  ever  travel  through 
Europe  with  any  comfort.  There  is  scarcely  a  drawing-room  on  the 
Continent,  where,  if  the  subject  of  the  United  States  is  brought  up, 
one  will  not  hear  one  voice  of  indignation  against  the  system  of 
slavery.  Through  all  the  best  circles,  amojig  the  noblest  and  best 
men,  in  every  land,  and  especially  in  Great  Britain — men  whom 
the  traveller  would  most  like  to  associate  with — the  universal  feel- 
ing is,  if  not  of  indignation,  of  something  still  more  annoying — of 
pity  for  the  supporters  of  such  an  institution  !  How  often  have  I, 
within  the  first  fifteen  minutes  of  acquaintance,  been  asked  about 
that  great  evil  in  our  society ;  and  it  is  such  a  comfort  to  be  able  to 
explain  that  I  have  no  part  or  parcel  therein,  that  my  government 
has  none,  that  the  responsibility  rests  not  with  us,  and  that  there  is 
many  a  man  among  us,  who  gladly  would  lay  down  fortune  and 
life  to  aid  in  doing  it  nway,  if  there  were  any  possibility  of  success. 
No  one  can  imagine  the  public  opinion  of  civilized  Europe,  till  he  is 
here,  on  this  matter.  Indeed,  I  must  be  allowed  to  say,  the  tono 
of  the  whole  civilized  world,  is  far  higher  and  nobler  on  this  ques- 
tion, than  even  that  of  our  free  States 


A    GERMAN    LADY.  357 


Probably,  much  that  my  friend  the  clergyman  said,  of  the  want 
of  religious  earnestness  among  the  young  men  is  true.  It  corre,s- 
ponds  with  my  own  observations  in  North  Germany.  Still,  let  the 
Gerrcan  spontaneity  and  a  clear  sense  and  sound  Christian  principle 
go  together,  and  there  spring  up  the  most  beauti^il  combinations  of 
character  I  have  ever  seen  —  natures  such  as  are  seldom  found  under 
our  English  civilization.  I  have  just  been  making  a  visit  to 
Madame  -  ,  to  me  a  marked  example  of  this.  I  extract  from  a 
letter— 

"  On  reaching  the  town  where  she  lived,  i  at  once  left  my  card  and 
letters,  rambled  about,  delivered  other  letters  —  and  called  again  in  the 
evening;  my  introductions  were  from  her  mother  and  sisters  whom 
I  knew  well  in  --  ;  and  I  had  a  letter,  also,  to  her  husband, 
a  young  scientific  man  of  note  ;  so  that  we  had  many  common 
topics.  We  fell  at  once  into  the  midst  of  things  —  a  conversation 
easy  but  under  the  surface,  and  leaving  something  to  be  remem- 
bered when  it  was  over.  I  spent  that  evening  there,  and  was 
invited  to  a  supper-party  the  next  —  dined  there  the  day  after,  and 
then  went  to  a  famous  Castle  with  them,  and  staid  till  a  late  hour 
the  last  evening. 

"  I  have  never  known  a  woman  with  so  happy  a  balancing  of  qual- 
ities, and  yet  so  little  extraordinary. 

"  Imagine  an  oval  face,  a  fine,  soft  complexion,  fine  auburn  hair, 
nose  slightly  retrousse,  yet  not  too  small,  good  forehead,  with  the 
head  rising  nobly  over  it;  'Benevolence,'  full,  as  a  phrenologist 
would  describe  it;  Ideality,  large  ;  the  emotive  faculties  full,  and 
the  passionate,  moderate  ;  Comparison  and  the  logical,  large  ;  and 
hazel  eyes,  full  of  feeling  and  thought,  working  continually  in  a 


358  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


quick,  eager  way  ;  a  mouth,  just  half  on  the  edge  of  running  over 
into  a  laugh,  and  a  tall,  full  woman's  form. 

"  She  has  a  true  woman's  wit — that  sort  of  playful,  fine  warding 
off,  and  quick  catching  of  others'  expression,  but  without  the  least 
sharpness  to  it — always  under  the  control  of  the  kindest  feelings. 
But  her  glory  and  beauty,  and  that  which  speaks  so  in  ever-chang- 
ing language  in  her  face,  is  that  overflowing  life,  and  interest  in 
others,  her  geniality,  the  highest  trait,  or  result  of  many  traits  in 
any  human  character ;  yet  in  her,  accompanied  with  an  exceedingly 
sharp,  instinctive,  keen  knowledge  of  human  nature.  One  gets  the 
idea  of  no  soft  amiability  in  her,  no  blind  benevolence ;  and  at  the 
same  time,  not  as  in  our  New  England  geniality,  of  a  kindness,  the 
result  of  a  sense  of  duty.  It  is  natural,  keen,  overflowing,  genial — 
not  exactly  affectionate,  or  passionate,  or  principled — a  happy  com- 
bination of  all. 

"  Then  add  a  mind,  very  highly  cultivated — independent,  worked 
out  opinions — strong  moral  sentiments — much  ideality,  coloring  all 
her  language  and  thought,  but  even  more  reason  to  limit  them — a 
vitality,  as  of  ardent,  healthy  youth,  but  always  very  tasteful  and 
beautiful,  and  a  great  musical  talent — and  have  we  not  a  happy 
product  ?  I  have  not  exaggerated  a  single  trait,  except  as  one  must 
necessarily  in  writing,  abbreviate. 

"  Her  husband  is  utterly  unlike  her.  Calm,  solid,  deep  in  his  learn- 
ing— no  ideality — and  as  yet  from  his  easy  disposition,  led  by  her 
greater  life,  though  in  the  end,  his  solidity  may  outbalance  her  activity. 
Manly,  in  that  he  had  just  as  lief  others  should  see,  she  led  him. 

"  She  talked  of  his  foibles  and  of  educating  him,  and  of  their  edu- 
cating one  other,  laughingly  told  me  of  a  way  he  had  of  being 
stupid  at  precisely  a  certain  hour  in  the  evening,  and  wanting  to  go 
to  bed,  and  how  she  had  broken  him  of  his  habit ! — described  to 


GERMAN   TRAITS.  3-W 

us  how  he  would  keep  up  his  puns  after  they  were  married,  which 
was  insufferable — before,  an  attention,  now  a  bore ! 

"  Is  not  all  this  truly  German,  with  a  two  days'  acquaintance! 

"Her  husband  is  aliberal Constitutionalist ;  but  she  is  a  Republi- 
can, as  fully  as  I  am  myself.  She  is  almost  the  first  German  woman, 
I  have  seen,  who  has  the  deep  indignation  of  a  generous  heart  .at  these 
crushing  wrongs  in  her  Fatherland.  Her  religion  is  very  simple 
and  fervent,  yet  utterly  and  entirely  separated  from  all  necessary 
bonds  to  form  and  externality,  a  mingling  of  Freedom  and  Faith, 
such  as  I  have  seldom  met.  She  and  her  husband  are  deeply  in- 
terested in  efforts  for  the  poor  ;  in  Sabbath  Schools,  and  charitable 
movements  here — the  first  instance  of  the  kind  I  have  encountered 
among  the  learned  laity.  Her  very  strong  love  for  home,  and  for 
every  detail  about  it,  was  truly  German. 

"We  talked  infinitely  in  those  three  days,  and  I  know  her  better 
than  I  do  many  years'  acquaintances.  She  speaks  English  beauti- 
fully, though  we  generally  spoke  German. 

"  The  charm  of  her  is,  that  happy  mingling  of  animal,  cheerful, 
genial  traits,  with  real  earnestness  of  character.  She  is  one,  who 
wins  her  servants  and  the  lowest  as  well  as  her  equals,  to  herself, — 
not  because  she  tries,  nor  because  she  does  it  to  please  her  own  van- 
ity, or  for  effect,  or  for  duty,  but  because  her  nature  flows  out  thus 
kindly  towards  all.  Then  with  this,  working  continually,  is  a  clear- 
sighted intellect  and  deep  religious  sense. 

"  The  memory  is  a  light  over  my  path.  I  remember  not  so  much 
a  noble,  or  an  intellectual,  or  a  witty  spirit,  as  a  genial,  clear-headed, 
refined,  religious  woman,  who  met  me  a  stranger,  as  a  friend.  I 
shall  never  see  her,  and  may  never  hear  of  her  again.  But  I  am 
grateful  that  God  has  created  a  few  such  happy  combinations  of 
qualities,  and  that  I  have  known  the  embodiment !"  *  *  * 


CHAPTEK  XXXYI. 


I  NEVER  remember  to  have  taken  a  more  interesting  railroad  ride 
than  on  the  route  between  Dresden  and  Prague.  The  road,  for  the 
great  part  of  the  way,  winds  up  the  valley  of  the  Elbe,  through  the 
"  Saxon  Switzerland."  The  tirst  few  miles  are  in  the  open  country 
on  the  banks  of  the  Elbe,  with  the  green  hills,  covered  with  the 
vine,  rising  on  the  other  side.  But  gradually  the  river  is  forced  in 
between  the  mountains,  and  the  track  is  obliged  to  accompany  it, 
and  we  found  ourselves  puffing  along  right  under  immense  jagged 
precipices,  then  cutting  through  in  a  dark  tunnel  a  rocky  promontory, 
then  rushing  across,  on  solid  bridges,  some  bend  of  the  stream,  with 
the  wildest  of  scenery  around  us.  It  was  like  a  railway  through  the 
Alps.  If  any  one  of  my  readers  has  travelled  up  the  Naugatuck 
road  in  Connecticut,  or  followed  the  lower  valley  of  the  Wye,  in 
England,  he  will  have,  on  a  smaller  scale,  a  very  good  idea  of  the» 
Dresden  and  Prague  Railroad.  This  road  has  only  been  opened  a 
week,  and  I  could  see  all  along  the  route,  signs  of  the  grand  cele- 
bration they  have  just  had  at  its  first  opening— great  festoons  of 
evergreens  and  flowers  over  the  station  houses,  and  varieties  of  deco- 
rations everywhere.  By  its  completion,  the  traveller  can  leave  Ber- 
lin at  7  o'clock  in  the  morning,  reach  Dresden  at  12,  stop  an  hour 


THE    RAILROAD.  *Jl 

and  a  half,  and  be  iu  Prague  by  9  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and, 
spending  the  night  in  Prague,  can  reach  Vienna  the  next  evening, 
so  that  the  two  capitals  are,  in  fact,  within  thirty  hours  distance  of 
one  another.  Many  hopes  are  felt  for  the  great  Bohemian  city  from 
this  line,  and  it  is  thought  her  manufactures  will  now  pour  them- 
selves more  freely  into  the  Northern  Zollverein. 

The  road  seemed  well-built,  and  must  necessarily  have  been  very 
expensive.  This  makes  no  difference,  however,  in  the  prices,  as  the 
Austrian  railroads  are  all  government  property,  and  the  fares  fixed 
without  reference  to  the  cost  of  building.  On  this  and  most  of 
their  roads  I  have  known,  the  price  for  the  second  class  passengers — 
which  perhaps  represents  the  average — is  11  kreutzers  per  German, 
mile,  which  is  about  2^  -cents  the  English  mile.  The  seats  in  the 
Austrian  cars  in  the  second  and  third  classes,  are  arranged  like  ours. 
The  first  class  has  coupes,  or  little  separate  compartments,  each  with 
two  or  three  seats. 

One  of  the  most  striking  objects  on  the  route  was  the  immense 
fortress  of  Koniysstein,  perched  on  what  seems  an  utterly  inaccessi- 
ble precipice.  It  boasts,  you  know,  of  being  the  only  inexpugna- 
ble fortress  of  Europe,  and  has  formed  the  refuge,  many  a  time, 
of  the  Saxon  kings  and  their  treasures.  In  modern  warfare,  such  a 
strong-hold  is  of  no  great  importance,  and  would  hardly  repay. the 
trouble  of  taking. 

As  we  passed  the  Austrian  borders,  I  felt  the  excitement  which 
every  traveller  feels  at  entering  a  land  he  has  heard  of  so  often,  and 
where  such  new  forms  of  life  will  open  to  him,  and  I  looked 
eagerly  out  of  the  windows  to  see  if  there  was  anything  in  the 
appearance  of  the  country,  to  remind  one  of  the  old  bigoted  Em- 
pire. The  first  objects  peculiar  were  the  multitude  of  saints' 
images  and  crucifixes  alon?  the  road.  At  every  turn  of  the 
10 


362  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


track,  and  on  every  high  point  of  the  banks,  these  memorials 
met  the  eye.  The  white-coated  officers,  too,  appeared  in  the 
villages,  and  the  Bohemian  language  could  be  heard  oftener  at 
the  stations.  The  Austrian  paper  began  to  show  itself,  and  I  had 
my  first  sight  of  a  little  expedient  which  surprised  me  much  at  the 
time,  though  I  have  found  it  common  enough  since.  I  bought  a 
trifle  of  a  woman  standing  by  the  cars,  and  handed  her  a  bank  bill 
of  six  kreutzers,  (about  four  cents).  The  article  cost  three  kreutzers, 
and  she  tore  off  half,  and  gave  me  the  other  half !  I  saw  a  man 
afterwards  tear  a  ten  kreutzer  inio  four  pieces,  and  pass  them  in  the 
same  way.  No  one  passed  or  received  silver. 

The  talk  of  the  people  also  around  aae  soflnded  more  "  Austrian." 
They  were  discussing  that  question  of  questions  for  their  country,  tho 
currency — and  what  the  Gulden  were  worth,  and  the  chances  of 
bankruptcy,  &c.  I  ought  to  mention  here  for  the  benefit  of  travel- 
lers, that  my  Prussian  gold  and  paper  brought  me  a  premium  of 
about  thirty-three  per  cent ! 

I  was  very  glad  from  the  conversation  going  on  around,  to  get 
some  idea  of  this  perplexing  Austrian  currency — this  "  Gulden- 
schein "  and  "  Guldenmunz?  and  these  complicated  kreutzers  and 
groschens.  A  man  has  to  keep  a  sharp  look  out,  or  he  will  be  con- 
tinually paying  Munz  for  Schein,  or  in  other  words,  two  and  a  half 
times  as  much  as  he  should.  The  innkeepers  have  a  way  of  pre- 
senting their  bills  in  "  Schein  money,"  and  the  unlucky  traveller  will 
be  paying  over  in  an  extravagant  manner,  until  he  remembere  that 
he  settles  in  Munz.  That  is,  if  the  bill  is  ten  Gulden  Schein,  it 
means  four  Gulden  common  money — a  very  considerable  difference 
in  a  long  bill. 

Another  very  characteristic  thing  in  the  cars,  was  the  conversa- 
tion of  two  men  near  me  over  the  new  Tobacco  Law  and  the  "  cursed 


FIRST    VIEW.  303 

monopoly."  "  A  man  could  not  even  smoke  his  pipe  now,  without 
being  taxed  by  the  Government ! " 

It  was  a  beautiful  sunny  spring  afternoon  as  we  rushed  over 
the  railroad  bridge  at  Prague,  and  the  first  sight  of  that  crowd 
of  towers  and  Moorish  domes  and  turrets,  as  they  rose  one  above 
the  other  on  the  hill  side,  crowned  by  what  seemed  a  mosque  on, 
the  summit  *  or  stretched  away  on  the  other  bank  of  the  river  among 
the  multitude  of  houses,  was  very  striking.  I  had  at  length  reached 
the  antique  Bohemian  capital — once  the  Paris  of  an  old  civilization," 
and  now  filled  with  monuments  which  make  it,  perhaps,  the  most 
interesting  city  of  Europe.  An  interest  which  is  increased  by  the 
strange  movements  of  which  it  has  been  the  centre  during  these  last 
few  years. 

Thinking  over  such  matters,  and  quite  ready  to  be  interested 
in  anything,  I  walked  out  after  engaging  a  room  in  a  hotel,  to  see 
the  old  city.  Not  having  any  guide  with  me — and  not  wanting 
any — I  wandered  around  quite  at  random  in  the  narrow  old  streets. 
In  fact,  among  all  the  pleasures  of  travelling,  I  know  hardly  a  greater, 
than  the  first  independent  wandering  through  the  streets  of  one  of 
the  old  historic  cities.  You  do  not  feel  obliged  to  learn  anything. 
You  are  not  bored  with  guide  books,  or  guides.  You  are  decipher- 
ing yourself  all  the  while,  the  thousand  strange  inscriptions  written 
all  around  you ;  written  in  various  architectures,'  in  the  style  of  the 
monuments,  in  the  age  of  the  buildings,  and  even  in  the  faces  and 
bearing  of  the  inhabitants.  I  have  found  by  experience,  that  the 
Past  never  comes  before  one's  mind  as  in  these  first  few  moments, 
and  I  lay  more  value  on  these  first  impressions,  than  all  the  guide 
book  information  afterwards.  Tho  next  time  you  see  the  hoary 
monument  and  crumbling  walls  with  Murray  in  hand,  or  with  mo- 
notonous "  Commissionaire  "  at  your  elbow,  exploring  their  history— 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


their  glory  has  all  departed,  and  you  see  nothing  but  very  sooty 
stones  or  common-place  statues  ;  and  are  quite  likely,  in  the  midst 
of  the  most  entrancing  historic  associations,  to  be  speculating  on  the 
chances  of  the  next  election  at  home,  or  wondering  whether  it  is  not 
time  for  "  lunch." 


THE    OLD    BRIDGE    AT    PRAGUE. 

I  had  not  rambled  long  before  I  came  on — what  is  perhaps  the 
most  interesting  object  in  this  interesting  city — the  old  Bridge  over 
the  Moldau.  You  know  the  Moldau  'separates  Prague  into  two 
parts,  the  old  city  and  the  "  Kltine  Stite"  (Little  Side).  These  two 
quarters  are  connected  by  two  bridges,  one  beautiful  modern  chain- 
bridge,  and  this  solid,  ancient  structure. 

This  is  lined  at  the  distance  of  every  four  feet,  with  statues  and 
images.  They  are  rough  affairs,  and  peculiarly  battered  in  the 
various  bombardments  which  Prague  has  undergone,  and  especially 
in  the  Revolutionary  contests  of  1848.  Still  they  are  very  charac- 
teristic, and  speak  forcibly  of  the  long  history  and  of  the  superstition 
of  the  nation.  The  turbaned  Turk,  and  his  companions  the  demons 
appear  frequently,  and  are  really  terribly  dealt  with  by  the  artists, 
while  the  saints  always  figure  in  great  glory.  There  is  one  of  the 
monuments  which,  though  coarse,  shows  a  good  deal  of  power. 
You  see  a  dark  hole  in  one  of  the  stone  buttresses,  with  a  fierce-look- 
ing Turk  on  one  side,  and  a  ravenous  dog,  just  springing  forward,  on 
the  other ;  within  the  hole  are  three  saints,  whose  faces  just  appear, 
and  really  more  dolorous,  forlorn-looking  visages  one  seldom  sees. 
They  are  praying.  Above,  forming  the  statue  for  the  bridge,  is  a 
group  of  Christ  and  some  of  his  apostles,  breaking  the  chains  of  pri- 


THE    BRIDGE.  3fl* 


soners,  and  apparently  about  to  descend  to  the  three  saints  in  the 
dungeon.  The  great  statue  of  the  bridge  is  Nepomuctfs,  who  seems 
almost  the  patron  Saint  of  Prague.  This  is  of  bronze,  with  five 
stars  about  the  bead  to  represent  those  which  appeared  on  the  water 
when  he  was  drowned.  He  seems,  from  all  accounts,  to  have  been  a 
very  good  man  in  the  middle  ages,  and  to  have  been  thrown  into 
the  river  from  the  bridge,  because  he  opposed  one  of  their  Kings  in 
some  way.  There  is  a  difference  of  tradition  about  him.  But  there 
seems  little  doubt  he  met  his  death  in  a  manly  rebuke  of  the 
King's  vices. 

I  stopped  some  time  near  his  statue,  to  get  the  whole  aspect  of 
the  scene.  It  was  a  curious  mingling  of  the  new  and  old.  There 
was  the  venerable  bridge,  with  its  battered  and  quaint  images — the 
same  old  bridge  that  Wallenstein's  forces  had  tramped  over,  and 
•where  many  a  hard  fought  fight  between  burgers  on  one  side,  and 
the  garrison  on  the  hill,  on  the  other,  had  swayed  to  and  fro.  Now, 
handsome  modern  carriages  with  liveries,  and  new  hacks,  such  as 
one  sees  in  London  or  New  York,  of  the  prettiest  styles,  were  hur- 
rying over.  Yet,  right  alongside  of  them — the  oldest  sight  to  me 
in  all  Prague — were  sane,  keen-looking  men  of  this  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, walking,  and  taking  off  their  hats  reverently  to  this  image  of 
Nepomuck  !  I  watched  for  some  time,  what  kind  of  men  especially 
did  this — and  though,  of  course,  the  lower  class  were  most  particu- 
lar in  the  matter,  yet  men  of  all  ranks  and  classes  seemed  to  do  the 
same.  It  was  my  first  experience  of  a  genuine  Catholic  people — - 
and  I  went  away  wondering. 

The  evening  drew  on,  in  these  rambles,  and  I  hastened  to  a 
friend's  house,  where  I  had  left  my  letter  of  introduction  and  a 
card,  during  the  day.  I  had  been  long  expected,  and  it  did  not 
need  many  minutes,  with  the  truly  German  sociability,  for  us  all  to 


366  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY 


be  on  the  best  of  terms.  A  number  of  their  friends  came  in,  in  the 
course  of  the  evening, — mostly  Professors  in  the  University, — and 
the  conversation  soon  fell  on  the  Bohemian  school  system.  These 
gentlemen  were  German  professors,  invited  by  the  Austrian  govern- 
ment to  this  University,  and  what  is  more  singular  still — Protest- 
ants. Their  remarks  on  the  general  cultivation  and  school  arrange- 
ments in  Bohemia  were  anything  but  complimentary.  They  describe 
the  teachers  as  wretchedly  paid,  till  within  a  year,  in  all  the  common 
schools,  and  the  Gymnasia,  or  schools  preparatory  to  the  University, 
as  in  a  miserable  condition. 

The  Austrian  Government,  they  tell  me,  has  been  making,  this 
last  year,  immense  efforts  at  reform — and  the  first  change  in  the 
Universities  has  just  commenced.  These  are  now  all  put  on  the 
same  basis  as  the  German  Universities — that  is,  the  studies  are  thrown 
open  to  the  students,  and  they  are  allowed  to  choose  their  own  field 
to  work  upon,  and  are  free  from  all  restraint,  except  the  examina- 
tions necessary  for  entering  most  of  the  professions. 

Another  change,  too,  which  has  exceedingly  gratified  the  Bohe- 
mians, is  the  putting  the  Bohemian  language  on  an  equality  with 
the  German,  in  all  public  schools  and  universities.  So  that  there 
are  a  good  number  of  lectures  now  delivered  in  this  university,  in 
theCheski  tongue.  The  students,  according  to  the  accoint  of  these 
gentlemen,  are  very  poorly  prepared  for  a  university  course,  and  the 
labor  of  a  professor  is  much  less  pleasant  than  in  a  German  Univer- 
sity. These  divisions  of  Nationality  have  even  affected  society,  and 
this  divides  itself  into  the  German  and  Sclavonic,  which  is  unfortu- 
nate, especially  as  the  Germans  are  so  few  in  number*.-  The  Bohe- 
mian part,  according  to  all  accounts,  is  much  inferior  to  the  other,  in 
cultivation. 

It  was  related,  by  one  of  the  party,  as  a  sign  of  the  feeling  pre- 


SLAVONIC    MOVEMENTS.  367 


vailing  through  many  in  the  town,  that  a  friend  of  his,  a  man  of 
considerable  influence  iu  the  Slavonic  party,  had  recently  had  a  seal 
made,  with  the  figure  of  a  Cossack  above,  and  below  the  words 
"  Immcr  nach  dem  Westen  /"  "  Ever  towards  the  West  /" 

These  impulses  for  a  Slavonic  Nationality,  of  which  Prague  was 
the  centre  in  1848,  and  by  which  it  is  still  agitated,  are  to  me,  one 
of  the  most  singular  developments  in  history.  I  do  not  understand 
them. 

They  were  first  carried  out  into  action  in  1848,  and  produced 
most  momentous  effects.  The  old  kingdom  of  Hungary  was  shaken 
by  them  into  disjointed  fragments.  Bohemia  itself,  was  split  off 
from  Austria.  Their  influence  reached  Poland  and  the  provinces 
of  Russia,  and  even  the  principalities  of  the  Danube,  wherever  a 
tribe  of  the  old  Slavonic  stock  yet  lived. 

If  these  Slavonic  tribes  had  been  of  one  language  and  religion, 
all  this,  though  remarkable,  would  have  been  less  strange.  But  with 
many  of  these  tribes,  it  would  have  needed  the  scent  of  an  ethno- 
logist to  determine  that  they  belonged  to  one  "nationality."  Their 
religions  were  different,  and  their  languages — though  all  of  the 
same  family — now  so  unlikp,  that  in  the  great  Slavonic  Congress  in 
Prague,  in  1848,  the  different  members  could  not  even  understand 
one  another,  and  a  foreign  tongue  was  the  organ  of  the  much  hoped- 
for  "  Union.'' 

Their  interests  and  their  past  history  were  widely  separate.  Yet 
was  the  movement  very  deep  and  far  reaching.  It  affected  some  of 
the  first  minds  of  the  Slavonic  race;  and  the  Slavonic  literature  here 
in  Prague  and  elsewhere,  has  shown  in  these  last  few  years  such  a 
progress,  as  it  has  not  since  the  time  of  its  bloom  in  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries.  To  our  ideas,  the  movement  seems  fantastic 
and  useless — hardly  more  singular  and  unpractical,  if  the  whole 


SOCIAL    LIFE   IN    GERMANY. 


Celtic  race  (the  Highlanders  in  Scotland,  the  Irish,  the  Oriental 
tribes  from  which  they  sprang,  all  who  anywhere  belong  to  that 
stem),  should  unite  and  agitate  to  form  a  great  "  Celtic  .national- 
ity !"  I  consider  it  as  one  of  those  visions  for  which  these  people  in 
Middle  Europe  have  so  often  lost  realities.  They  have  fought  for 
"  nationalities,"  and  have  forgotten  Freedom. 


CHAPTEK  XXXVI. 

WALK   TO    THE    LAURENZIBERO. 

T  MUST  confess  it — more  interesting  to  rne  than  the  old  Bridge ; 
more  than  Huss's  pulpit,  or  Nepomuck's  Statue,  or  Wallenstein's 
Horse,  or  the  Hradschin  Palace,  was  a  certain  clear-sighted,  genial 
woman,  and  an  accomplished,  intelligent  man,  here  in  Prague, 
true  children  of  this  nineteenth  century.  I  met  them  a  stranger, 
and  left  them  such  friends,  as  I  scarcely  have  in  Europe.  It  is  diffi- 
cult, except  with  people  of  peculiar  culture,  to  meet  on  all  points 
under  a  foreign  language.  There  is  always  something  coining  up 
at  an  unexpected  moment,  which  strikes  one  aback — which  is  not 
to  be  accounted  for  on  our  ideas — which  \sforeiyn,  and  you  see  no 
possible  way  of  explaining  it.  But  it  was  not  so  with  any  of  us 
here.  My  friends  were  from  North  Germany,  highly  cultured,  with 
the  best  German  candor  and  freedom  of  thought — but  with  a  cer- 
tain earnestness  of  character,  which  is  not  so  common  in  Germany, 
just  now.  People  of  the  world,  yet  with  that  real  German  sim- 
plicity and  friendliness  of  manner.  They  both  knew  America  well, 
and  seemed  to  take  almost  as  deep  an  interest  in  its  future,  as  I 
myself.  Though  in  an  Austrian  state,  and  though  loyal  subjects, 
they  felt  and  worked  for  the  great  poorer  classes  of  men,  recogniz- 
16* 


370  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


ing  it  as  a  duty  before  the  enjoyment  in  learning,  and  before  even 
the  regular  round  of  religious  duties,  to  help  th  se  great  masses 
who  are  so  helpless.  I  think  my  friend  is  almost  the  first  German 
Gelehrter,  (scholar,)  I  have  met,  who  is  at  all  devoting  his  talents  to 
popular  education.  I  was  glad  to  tell  him,  how  well  his  name  was 
known  among  American  scholars,  and  that  his  few  efforts  in  science 
had  reached  so  far. 

To-day  we  have  been  taking  a  long  walk  to  the  Laurenziberg,  a 
high  hill,  which  overlooks  the  city.  It  is  a  glorious  spring  after- 
noon ;  the  trees  are  in  >th°  first  freshness  of  foliage  ;  the  green  fields 
in  the  valley  glisten  pleasantly  in  the  sunlight,  and  the  fragrance 
and  softness  in  the  air  make  one's  heart  glad.  -  Every  one  is  out 
enjoying  the  fine  weather,  and  there  are  unusual  numbers  here  to- 
day ;  for  it  is  a  religious  holiday,  and  the  people  are  making  pil- 
grimages to  the  chapel  on  the  hill.  There  is  the  Slovack  with  his 
broad-brimmed  hat  and  soiled  sheep-skin  mantle  thrown  gracefully 
over  one  shoulder,  ready  to  sell  his  little  wares  to  whoever  will  buy. 
There  the  ruddy  Bohemian  peasant  woman,  with  kerchief  about  her 
head,  and  bright-colored  dress,  reading  piously  her  prayers.  Right  by 
her  clatters  along  the  Austrian  soldier,  with  sabre,  white  coat  and 
dainty  little  cap.  And  once  I  observed  a  tall  Hungarian  hussar,  in 
his  short  blue  cloak,  sauntering  moodily  bv,  thinking  perhaps  of  his 
far  away  Magyar  fatherland  and  its  crushed  people. 

As  we  climb  the  hill,  we  pass  groups  kneeling  before  the  little 
shrines  on  the  road-side,  and  even  occasionally  kissing  devoutly  the 
glass  before  the  images. 

We  speak,  as  we  pass  in  our  walk  by  old  historic  Scenes,  of  the 
new  land  over  the  waters.  And  amid  these  relics  of  an  old  feudal 
government,  I  am  describing  that  which  is  ever  new  to  the  Germans, 


PRAGUE.  371 


and  of  which  I  never  wearv  of  speaking  to  tnera — the  success  of 
this  grand  modern  experiment  in  Self-government. 

We  climbed  for  a  long  time,  following  the  throng  of  pilgrims 
toward  the  chapel  on  the  hill,  until  at  length  on  the  summit,  the 
vide,  grand  view  of  the  valley  of  the  Moldau  opened  before  us. 
These  panoramic  views  are  never  the  finest  to  me,  yet  this  gave  a' 
ery  distinct  idea  of  Prague.  The  rich  golden  sunlight  was  pouring 
v.ver  the  scene,  but  did  not  obscure  at  all  the  forest  of  towers  and 
spires  and  domes  and  Moorish-like  turrets,  which  characterize  the 
city.  In  the  midst  of  the  valley  wound  the  Moldau,  dividing  the 
town  into  two  parts.  On  the  banks  toward  the  hill  where  we  were 
standing  (the  Klein-seite),  the  houses  rise  one  above  the  other  on 
the  hill  side,  till  the  summit  is  crowned  by  t-he  immense  structure  of 
the  Hradsckin,  the  old  palace  of  the  Bohemian  kings.  The  whole 
of  that  part  has  just  the  appearance  of  one  of  the  old  feudal  towns, 
with  the  castle  on  the  summit,  from  which  the  baron  can  rush  down 
in  his  forays  upon  the  peaceful  citizens.  Indeed  such  has  been 
almost  its  character  ;  and  that  solid  bridge  which  connects  this  side 
with  the  "old  town,"  has  been  the  scene  of  many  a  fierce  fight  in 
olden  tirxe. 

Below  Ass,  forming  a  very  pretty  object  in  the  view  from  where 
we  stand,  is  the  new  chain  bridge  over  the  river. 

On-  the  other  end  of  the  "  Old  Bridge,"  rise  the  massive  buildings 
of  the  university,,  where,  once,  more  than  30,000  students  were 
gathered.  Eve::  yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  numerously  attended  uni- 
versities in  Europe.  Beyond  this,  to  a  great  distance  on  that  side  of 
the  river,  stretcher  out  the  "  Old  City,"  varied  with  innumerable 
towers  and  fantastic  spires,  which,  mostly  built  in  the  Byzantine 
style,  give  a  peculiarly  orcrt-u  air  to  the  whole  place.  On  the  outer 
limits  can  be  seen  those  im^rx-ise  hospitals  for  the  sick  and  the  in- 


372  SOCIAL   LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


sane,  for  which  Prague  is  now  celebrated.  The  population  of  the 
city  is  only  120,000,  yet  the  buildings  are  so  numerous  and  grand, 
that  it  makes  a  very  imposing  appearance.  It  is  stated  that  even 
with  this  comparatively  small  number  of  inhabitants,  the  city  is  some 
twelve  miles  in  circumference. 

We  stayed  long,  enjoying  the  different  views,  and  only  as  evening 
drew  on,  turned  away  for  our  walk  home.  I  went  back  a  moment, 
to  take  a  last  good-bye  of  the  old  city,  which  seemed  even  more 
rich  and  fantastic  in  the  evening  light, — then  followed  my  friends 
down  the  hill,  quite  sure  that  its  like  I  should  never  see  again. 

As  we  went  down,  we  stopped  to  look  at  some  of  the  little  cha- 
pels on  the  roadside — they  were  nearly  ail  filled  with  pictures — some 
of  no  inconsiderable  power — representing  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 
The  people  kneeling  before  them,  seemed  earnest  and  engaged.  We 
stopped  in  one  place  to  rest  on  some  stones,  near  a  dark  entrance, 
where  persons  were  going  in  and  coming  out  continually.  We 
hardly  dared  go  in  ourselves,  until  at  length,  the  lady  of  our  party 
ascertained  that  strangers  were  allowed  to  enter,  and  that  a  frag- 
ment of  the  holy  Sepulchre  of  Christ  was  exhibited  there !  Ac- 
cordingly we  all  crept  through  the  passage  into  one  apartment,  and 
out  of  that  into  a  small  gloomy  cave,  lighted  with  one  lamp,  and 
hung  with  black.  On  one  side  of  it  was  lying  a  full-length,  wooden 
figure  of  the  naked  dead  Christ,  with  his  bleeding  wounds,  and 
above,  the  cross  on  a  fragment  of  stone,  which  I  suppose  must  have 
been  the  relic  in  question.  In  front  was  a  plate  for  the  offerings. 
The  whole  was  very  well  arranged  and  had  an  exceedingly  oppres- 
sive effect  on  one,  and  I  must  confess  we  were  glad  to"  deposit  our 
kreutzers,  and  get  out  again.  One  may  judge,  how  well  contrived 
it  was  for  affecting  the  common  people. 

In   all  these  ceremonials,  we  agreed  it  was  possible  for  a  truly 


VIEWS.  373 


Christian  spirit  to  be  engaged.     Whether  that  was  the  fact  with 
these  people,  or  not,  was  quite  another  question. 

We  returned  in  the  evening  to  my  friend's  house,  or  rather  suite 
of  rooms,  which  by  the  way  are  much  handsomer  than  would  be 
those  of  a  gentleman  of  his  station  in  Berlin  ;  and  then  over  a  good 
supper,  continued  a  pleasant  conversation  till' a  late  hour. 

A  PBIL  — . 

To-day  my  friends  and  myself  have  climbed  the  Cathedral  tower, 
which,  with  the  hill,  gives  an  elevation  of  some  500  feet  over  the 
surface  of  the  Moldau.  On  the  summit,  we  found  a  droll,  sociable 
fellow,  the  warden,  who  had  lived  up  there  for  many  years,  and  who 
told  us  of  his  "  high-born  son  " — born  250  feet  above  the  ground, 
and  500  and  odd  above  the  river !  His  description  of  the  old 
buildings  we  could  see,  was  very  well  given  indeed. 

To  one  of  them,  there  was  a  melancholy  interest  for  us,  in  that 
it  was  the  place  where  the  revolutionists  of  '48 — mostly  young  stu- 
dents— are  confined.  It  had  been  a  nunnery,  but  is  now  a  State 
prison.  They  are  allowed,  he  said,  to  walk  around  in  the  court,  we 
see  there — "most  of  them,  poor  fellows,  are  sentenced  for  many- 
years." 

Another  building  which  equally  spoke  of  late  events,  was  a  new, 
strong  fort,  just  out  of  the  city,  built  on  a  hill  side,  where  the  only 
possible  range  of  the  cannon  was  over  the  city.  The  Government 
are  evidently  securing  themselves  against  any  repetition  of  the  scenes 
of  '48. 

In  the  afternoon,  in  company  with  a  Bohemian  gentleman,  I 
visited  a  great  variety  of  interesting  objects.  Perhaps  nothing  of 
all  these  was  more  striking,  than  the  old,  tangled,  gloomy  burying- 
ground  of  the  Jews — an  immense  field,  right  in  the  heart  of  Ihe 


374  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


city,  filled  to  every  square  foot  of  ground  with  plain  slabs  of  stone, 
and  overgrown  with  very  ancient  twisted  trees  and  vines.  It  forma 
throughout,  one  of  the  wildest,  strangest  scenes  imaginable. 

We  asked  our  Jew  guide  about  the  little  pebbles  on  some  of  the 
tombs.  These  were  laid,  he  said,  by  those  who  came  to  the  tombs 
to  pray,  and  it  was  his  private  opinion  that  the  spirits  came  back 
into  the  graves  when  a  good  man  prayed. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  Jews  here  are  almost  entirely  on  the 
German  side,  against  the  Slavonians.  They  are  quite  numerous, 
numbering  some  8,000,  out  of  a  population  of  120,000. 

My  companion  was  a  genuine  Slavonian,  and  seemed  to  hope 
much  from  the  recent  measures  of  the  Austrian  Government  with 
regard  to  his  countrymen.  The  equal  position  now  of  the  two  lan- 
guages in  Bohemia,  and  the  complete  abolishment  of  serfdom 
through  the  whole  Empire,  would  do  much,  he  thought,  for  them. 

The  plan  adopted  in  Bohemia  in  this  freeing  the  peasants,  is  that 
the  State  should  pay  one-third  of  the  loss,  the  peasant  himself  ano- 
ther third,  and  the  master  take  upon  himself  the  remaining  third. 
Such  a  measure  causes  an  immense  loss  to  the  landholders,  and  oc- 
casions a  very  complicated  mass  of  business  for  the  Austrian  Govern- 
ment to  settle,  as  not  unfrequently  the  rents  for  years  from  the 
peasants'  labor  have  been  mortgaged.  It  was  the  opinion  of  this 
gentleman,  though  a  Catholic,  and,  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  a  Con- 
servative, that  the  attachment  of  the  whole  Slavonic  race  was  very 
weak,  indeed,  towards  the  House  of  Hapsburg. 


MONASTERIES. 

Later  in  the  day  we  visited  some  of  the  old   monastic  estab 
lishments,  where  my  companion  had  been  educated,  which  are  still 


CHARITIES.  375 


cloisters  and  hospitals.  It  was  strange  to  be  wandering  around  through 
the  long  corridors,  and  under  the  rows  of  old  pictures,  and  to  be  meet- 
ing real,  living  monks.  I  must  say,  however,  there  was  nothing  in 
the  arrangements  which  smacked  of  the  comfort-loving  tendencies 
of  which  the  brethren  have  been  accused.  Everything  was  plain 
and  simple, — even  the  "  Refectory,"  though  a  grand,  arched  hall, 
had  a  table  just  set,  which  would  have  hardly  contented  a  common 
laboring  man  with  us. 

The  chapel  was  the  only  exception  to  this  plainness.  Here  the 
treasures  of  ages  seem  to  have  been  expended  in  gilding  and  carving, 
and  monuments,  and  every  variety  of  rich  painting. 

One  establishment  which  I  visited, — that  of  the  "Merciful  Bre- 
thren'1''— had  an  admirable  hospital  arranged  within,  with  all  the 
most  modern  practical  conveniences,  and  some  hundred  or  more 
patients.  These  are  admitted  and  taken  care  of  by  the  "  Brethren" 
without  charge  ;  and  what  I  was  especially  glad  to  hear,  no  prefer- 
ence was  given  to  any  particular  religious  faith.  The  Heretic  or 
the  Infidel,  is  equally  admitted  with  the  Catholic.  The  means  for 
this  are  gained  by  the  personal  solicitations  of  the  Brethren,  from 
house  to  house.  Verily  there  is  many  a  good  side  to  the  old  Ro- 
mish Faith. 


CHAPTEE  XXXYII. 

A    BOHEMIAN    LADT. 

PRAGmt,  APBIL,  1851. 

AMONG  my  acquaintances  here,  is  a  very  intelligent  Catholic 
family — Bohemians — who  have  treated  me  with  much  kindness. 
They  have  taken  me  out  in  their  carriage,  among  the  antiquities  of 
this  famous  city  ;  and  have  sent  their  own  family  tutor  with  me,  to 
show  me  over  the  various  places  of  historic  interest.  I  came  in  to- 
day, after  a  ride,  and  took  "  afternoon  coffee "  with  them.  The 
house  has  a  most  dingy,  unpromising  exterior,  and  the  outside  door 
at  the  head  of  the  great  stair-way,  opens  into  a  kitchen,  through 
which  we  pass  to  the  parlor.  Yet  the  parlor  is  richly  furnished 
beyond  almost  any  I  have  seen  in  North  Germany — massive  oak 
chairs,  deep  sofas,  carpets,  heavy  curtains,  and  rich  Bohemian  glass 
in  abundance.  The  lady  is  evidently  a  woman  of  the  world — has 
been  in  England  and  France — speaks  French  and  German,  as  if  they 
were  native  languages  to  her ;  and  is  beside  a  person  of  real 
thought  and  intelligence.  Her  husband  is  a  merchant,  much  inte- 
rested in  the  new  rail-road  operations  in  Austria.  He  wants  ex- 
tremely a  rail-road  chart  of  America,  and  I  have  promised  to  get 
him  one,  if  possible. 


A    BLUNDER.  377 


While  waiting  for  our  coffee,  I  asked  for  a  glass  of  water,  and  the 
Bohemian  servant  brought  in  a  pewter  vessel,  looking  very  much 
Mke  what  we  should  use  in  our  quarter  of  the  world  for  a  watering- 
vot.  I  thought  it  was  odd ;  especially  as  the  hostess  seemed  so 
nuch  like  a  lady  of  the  world  ;  still  in  such  a  queer  house  and  queer 
city  I  was  ready  for  anything,  and  did  not  feel  at  all  sure  but  that 
this  might  be  the  regular  drinking  cup  of  the  inhabitants  ;  so  I  took 
it,  and  was  bringing  it  to  my  lips  very  gradually,  when  the  lady 
caught  a  glimpse  of  me.  "  Mem  Gott  !  You  are  not  drinking  out  of 
that ! "  and  the  servant  was  ordered  sharply,  this  time  in  Bohemian 
which  she  understood,  to  bring  a  glass ;  and  then  such  a  laugh,  as 
we  all  had — especially  the  children  and  myself!  The  coffee  was  at 
length  brought  in,  and  a  small  cup  of  it  with  a  glass  of  ice-water, 
and  a  sweet  cake  was  passed  to  each  one.  In  our  conversation,  I 
made  an  allusion  to  the  grand  religious  ceremonies,  then  going  on 
in  Prague,  and  told  her,  I  had  seen  that  morning  in  the  Cathedral  near 
the  Castle,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  the  Confession.  It  had  left  a 
deep  impression  on  me — the  kneeling,  humble  penitents,  pouring  out 
so  the  history  of  the  heart  into  the  ear  of  man.  It  seemed  a  tre- 
mendous instrument  of  power.  I  asked  her,  what  she  had  observed 
of  its  practical  influence  ? 

"  Oh !  Confession,"  said  she,  "  like  a  great  many  of  our  ordi- 
nances, and  of  the  ordinances  of  other  churches,  was  good  in  its 
origin,  but  has  now  been  much  abused.  So  far  as  I  have  observed, 
among  my  servants  and  the  common  people,  the  influence  is  very 
good.  It  is  very  desirable  for  such  persons,  you  know,  and  for  most 
persons,  when  they  are  confessing  their  sins,  to  have  a  distinct  idea 
of  them.  Merely  saying,  'I  am  a  sinner,'  is  not  enough  ;  the  man 
must  see  clearly  where  he  sins,  and  then  he  can  more  truly  repent ; 
we  think  confession  to  the  priest  meets  this  difficulty." 


378  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


"  Have  you  ever  known  direct  effects  of  it  ?  "  said  I. 

"  Oh,  yes,  often,"  she  answered.  "  I  have  had  again  and  again 
things  restored  to  me  by  the  priest,  which  had  been  stolen  either 
by  my  servant*,  or  others.  And  many  and  many  a  family  strife 
here  has  been  healed  by  our  confessors.  Of  course,  everything  told 
them  in  the  confessional,  is  sacred  ;  still  they  can  use  it  often  for 
good.  I  must  allow  that  very  often  it  is  abused.  Very  many  of 
the  common  people  put  it  off  till  such  a  time  as  this,  and  then  there 
is  such  a  crowd,  that  the  priest  has  no  time  to  give  good  advice  > 
and  the  penitents  themselves  hurry  it  over  in  such  an  indecorous 
manner ! 

"  And  there  are  such  absurd  confessions !  I  wonder  how  the 

good  father  can  bear  it !  There  is  Madame  L ,  they  say,  is 

always  mourning  with  tears,  in  the  box,  that  she  has  made  bad  but- 
ter, and  keeps  the  dinner  waiting — " 

u  Peccatum  mortah,  in  my  opinion,"  murmured  her  husband. 

"  Then  the  Frau  Z ,  who  laments  so  often  that  her  house  is 

not  washed  every  fortnight !  Still  on  the  whole,  I  find  the  influence 
good." 

"  But  do  you  feel  no  reluctance  at  unfolding  all  your  faults  and 
foibles  in  this  way  to  another  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Gewiss  nicht !  certainly  not !  How  can  I ;  and  how  can  any 
Christian  woman  who  really  wants  her  faults  corrected,  and  confesses 
for  that  purpose  ?" 

"  Ich  bitte — pardon  ! "  said  a  young  lady,  a  friend,  who  had  just 
come  in,  "I  cannot  agree  with  Madame in  that!  I  find  con- 
fession a  great  bore  !  I  shall  never  tell  my  secrets  to*any  one  ! " 

I  said,  something  then  about  the  dangerous  influence  on  the  mind 
of  the  priest  from  hearing,  for  a  few  years,  such  a  history  of  the 
human  heart. 


A  DISCUSSION.  379 

"  I  do  not  see  that,"  she  said,  "  on  a  pure-minded  man.  I  allow- 
that  very  great  care  should  be  used  in  appointing  a  confessor ;  and 
for  my  part,  I  always  prefer  a  private  confessor,  who  understands 
my  own  character  and  peculiar  difficulties." 

I  did  not  ask  her,  whether  she  thought  this  confession  could  really 
obtain  absolution  from  the  priest,  for  the  whole  manner  in  which 
she  defended  it,  evidently  supposed  the  contrary. 

"  I  have  been  on  your  interesting  old  bridge  to-day,"  said  I,  "  and 
I  see  the  people  taking  off  their  hats  to  the  statue  of  NepomucJc. 
Do  you  all  do  that  ?  " 

"  Ach  !  no.  Nepomuck  was  a  very  good  preacher  and  priest  in 
his  day,  and  died  for  the  truth,  and  is  very  much  reverenced  here  ; 
still  no  educated  Catholic  would  take  off  his  hat  to  his  statue — we  only 
bow  to  the  image  of  Christ,  which  is  at  this  end  of  the  bridge." 

In  my  visit  to  the  Cathedral,  I  had  bought  at  the  door  a  little 
copy  of  a  prayer  to  Nepomuck,  and  now  showed  it  to  her.  She 
looked  it  over. 

"  This  praying  to  saints,  you  know,  is  not  commanded  by  the 
church,"  she  said.  "Of  course,  there  is  but  one  real"  Intercessor." 
Yet  I  find  it  very  natural.  Sometimes  I  believe  it  fully,  and  then 
again  I  cannot — I  do  not  know.  The  whole  subject  of  the  next 
world  is  very  mysterious.  Who  can  tell,  but  that  those  we  love, 
and  the  good  of  all  ages,  still  have  an  influence  on  us  here  ?  I  love 
to  believe  it,"  she  said,  looking  up  for  a  moment,  her  eye  kindling 
with  feeling.  "  How  glad  should  I  be  to  think  some  were  still  by  me  1" 
She  stopped,  and  her  husband  took  the  opportunity  to  make  his 
escape. 

"  There  are  a  great  many  ordinances  and  ceremonials  of  the 
Church,"  she  continued,  "  which  I  do  not  feel  at  all  necessary  for 
myself.  I  have  no  need  of  public  worship.  I  am  conscious  of  wor- 


' 

380  SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


shipping  the  Infinite  better  among  His  works.  These  fast  days  are 
useless  to  me,  and  generally  disturb  my  health,  and  so  with  confes- 
sion often  ;  but  I  observe  these,  because  wise  and  good  men  of  the 
past  have  recommended  them,  and  because  f  shall  influence  ignorant 
people — my  servants  for  instance.  They  always  connect  real  heart 
religion  with  such  forms,. and  if  they  neglect  the  one,  they  will  be 
very  apt  to  become  weakened-  in  the  other." 

"  I  am  glad  you  think  so  about  fast-days !"  said  her  friend,  "  they 
give  me  such  head-aches  !" 

"In  my  opinion,"  she  continued  again,  "  the  greatest  defect  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  as  compared  with  your  Protestant,  is  the  celibacy 
of  the  clergymen. 

"  This  ordinance,  like  the  others,  I  think  was  very  good  in  the  be- 
ginning. In  the  earlier  ages  and  the  times  of  persecution,  marriage 
interfered  with  the  duty  of  the  priest ;  but  now,  in  my  view,  this 
forced  celibacy  is  the  great  cause  of  the  ignorance  of  our  native 
priests.  No  man  of  any  cultivation  and  refined  feelings,  will  place 
himself  where  he  alone  of  society  is  cut  off  from  the  most  tender 
enjoyments  and  the  best  discipline.  Besides  it  makes  our  priests 
form  such  dishonorable  connections,  and  which  from  this  very  rule, 
become  often  sinful  to  them. 

"  Nothing  pleases  me  more  in  Protestant  countries,  than  to  see  the 
confidence  with  which  clergymen  are  received  into  the  families. 
"No  respectable  family  in  Prague  will  admit  a  priest  to  regular  in 
tlmacy.  Besides,  I  do  not  see  how  a  priest  can  ever  advise,  or  con- 
sole, or  sympathize  with  a  family,  who  has  never  had  himself  the 
cares  and  responsibility  of  a  family." 

"Are  the  foreign  priests  as  illiterate  as  the  native  ?"  I  asked. 

"  No,  not  at  all,"  she  replied.  "  The  Jesuits  are  men  of  very  high 
cultfvation." 


CATHOLIC   WORSHIP.  381 


"  Ach,  yes — what  an  excellent  teacher  was  my  dear  Father  C — ; 
out  so  skilful !  I  should  have  been  one  of  the  sisterhood  certainly, 
if  he  had  staid !"  said  her  friend. 

"  It  is  not  probable,"  said  the  other,  "  that  the  Jesuits  will  ever 
return.  They  have  left  so  bad  a  reputation  here." 

We  conversed  in  this  way  some  time,  and  I  found  her  in  all  her 
thoughts  with  the  same  beautiful  ideality  and  religious  feeling.  At 
the  close  I  told  her  how  glad  I  was,  to  get  the  views  of  an  educated 
Catholic  on  these  matters. 

"  I  must  have  quite  wearied  you,"  she  answered.  "  I  have  talked 
very  frankly  about  my  faith,  and  I  will  tell  you  frankly,  what  I  find 
so  objectionable  in  your  Protestant  mode  of  worship.  It  is  too  bare 
and  cold  for  me.  There  is  no  appeal  in  it  to  the  feelings  and  the 
imagination.  Human  nature  is  made  up  of  many  parts,  and  I  be- 
lieve imagination  has  its  claim,  as  well  as  the  reason.  Your  forms 
may  be  different  in  America,  but  those  I  have  seen  in  the  Reformed 
Church  here,  never  affect  me  in  the  least.  And  in  England,  at 
least  in  some  churches — people  seemed  to  me  to  come  together  to 
hear  an  essay,  and  not  to  worship  the  dear  God  !  Perhaps  I  am 
saying  too  much.  You  will  understand  me.  I  must  follow  the  in- 
stincts of  my  nature,  and  they  are  never  satisfied  with  your  forms  P1 

It  was  not  the  time  to  argue  the  matter ;  so  I  only  said,  that  we 
did  not  exclude  feeling  from  our  services,  but  "  preferred  to  excite  it 
by  other  means,  through  the  reason,  by  oratory  and  persuasion. 
And  we  too  employed  poetry  and  music." 

I  was  deeply  interested  in  the'conversation,  and  have  given  this 
lady's  expressions,  as  much  as  possible,  word  for  word. 

As  I  left,  I  thought  of  the  beautiful  words  of  Lavater,  which  have 
often  come  over  me  since,  in  Roman  Catholic  countries. 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


Der  kennt  noch  nicht  dich,  JESUS  CHEISTTJS  ! 
Wer  deinen  Schatten  nur  entehrt, 
Mir  sei,  was  dich  nur,  Jesus  Christus ! 
Zu  ehren  meint,  verehrenswerth. 

Wenn's  Tauschung  wur,  nur  Fabel  ware, 
Es  fable  nur  zu  deiner  Ehre  ; 
Es  mag  mich  dracken  und  betruben 
Um  deinetwillen,  will  ich's  lieben, 
Erinnert's  nur  an  dich,  Iragt's  nur 
Von  dir,  die  allerkleinste  Spur ! 


CHAPTEE  XXXYIIL 


A  FIFTEEN  hours'  ride  by  rail  carried  me  from  Prague  to  Vienna. 
I  know  nothing  more  enlivening  than  travelling  in  this  fresh  spring 
season.  It  makes  one  grateful  to  see  the  world  so  beautiful.  Then 
this  incessant  meeting  with  so  many  varieties  of  minds  ;  and  finding 
friendships  and  affinities  with  people  of  such  different  culture  and 
habit !  It  is  very  pleasant.  Prejudices  wear  off  fast.  One  meets 
so  many,  who  unwaveringly  swear  to  that  as  black  which  their 
neighbors  call  white ;  one  finds  such  firm  prejudices  on  the  most 
opposite  matters,  that  it  seems  hardly  worth  while  forming  very 
fixed  opinions  on  small  matters.  I  find,  too,  I  come  more  and 
more  to  the  conviction,  that  men  belong  to  just  the  same  family, 
have  just  the  same  weaknesses,  foibles,  and  virtues,  whether 
they  speak  German  or  English,  wear  moustaches,  or  are  close- 
shaven,  sport  beaver  or  turban.  The  thought,  too,  settles  on 
me,  half  unconsciously  but  very  deeply,  from  seeing  so  much 
of  oppression  and  degradation — of  the  great  Want  and  unhap- 
piness  of  mankind.  I  find  myself,  also,  strangely  and  unpleasantly 
losing  my  sense  of  the  importance  of  the  individual  man.  Men  are 
used  in  masses,  like  cartridges  for  war  ;  or  the;  give  themselves  in 
flocks  to  their  rulers  for  such  ignoble  purposes ;  v  they  are  so  fixed 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


in  circumstances,  and  so  apparently  beyond  good  influences,  that  I 
lose  confidence  in  individual  Reform,  and  have  more  in  the  great 
Causes,  which  shall  change  the  whole  structure  of  society.  Not, 
perha|>6,  a  logical  effect,  but  a  natural. 

Every  new  station,  showed,  as  we  went  on,  the  presence  of  a  very 
different  people  from  the  North  German  ;  the  swarthy,  dark-haired 
boys,  the  number  of  beggars,  the  chapels  and  crosses  by  the  way, 
and  the  animated  talk  aud  gesture  of  people  were  all  characteristic 
of  a  more  southern  race. 

In  the  afternoon,  at  an  angle  of  the  road,  we  came  suddenly  in 
view  of  a  line  of  massive  blue  mountains  in  the  distance.  Why  did 
my  pulse  throb  quick  at  the  sight  ? — They  were  the  hills,  where  a 
nation  had  made  its  last  gallant,  unflinching  struggle  for  life.  The 
first  glimpse  of  a  land,  which  had  always  seemed  too  heroic  and 
dream-like  to  me,  that  I  should  ever  see  it 

The  Carpathians  !  UUNGARY  ! 

'Lhe  neighborhood  of  Vienna  was  indicated,  as  a  large  city  is 
usually,  by  the  different  style  of  men,  whom  we  saw.  People 
more  unobservant  of  strangers,  more  quick,  keen,  social,  unformal; 
and  at  the  same  time,  more  polite.  A  very  pleasant  population 
must  the  Viennese  be,  if  these  are  good  specimens. 

Our  passports  at  the  last  station  were  strictly  demanded ;  but  the 
baggage  was  passed  easily.  In  fact,  I  am  surprised  everywhere  at 
the  politeness  of  the  Austrian  police.  My  quarters  were  soon  taken 
up ;  and  to-day,  I  have  been  on  the  Prater — the  Hyde  Park  of 
Vienna ;  and  the  best  place  for  viewing  the  outside  of  the  city. 
A  grand  spectacle  it  is — almost  the  most  brilliant  I  have  seen 
in  Europe.  Otho,  the  King  of  Greece,  is  here,  and  the  young 
Emperor  gives  an  entertainment  to  his  guest,  by  calling  out  all  the 
finest  equipages  into  the  Prater  drive.  The  people,  too,  have 


THE    PRATER.  3jJ 

turned  out  in  multitudes,  and  every  walk  and  road  under  these 
grand  old  oaks  and  lindens  is  filled  with  a  most  picturesque  crowd. 
Here,  on  this  alley  on  my  right,  sweeps  down  a  dashing  cavalcade 
ef  riders,  with  those  fine-limbed,  deep-cheated  horses,  such  as  one 
«eldom  sees  anywhere,  except  in  England.  At  their  head  is  a  young 
officer,  with  the  white  military  coat  and  a  diminutive  little  green 
cap.  His  features  could  never  be  mistaken  by  any  one  who  had 
seen  the  portraits  of  the  late  emperor,  as  those  of  the  House  of 
Hapsburg.  A  brother  of  the  Emperor,  as  you  may  learn  from  the 
crowd.  In  the  great  alley  on  the  other  side,  comes  a  fine  open  car- 
riage with  gentlemen  in  red  caps  ;  Turkish  officers,  as  you  hear,  who 
are  in  Vienna  studying  engineering.  Then  some  riders  in  the  gay 
and  graceful  short  cloaks  and  plumed  shakoes  of  the  Hungarian 
noblemen — the  few  at  the  court  who  are  yet  allowed,  as  if  in 
mockery,  to  wear  the  much-loved  costume.  After  them  a  modest 
carriage  with  a  kindly-looking  man  within,  and  a  boy  at  his  side. 
The  crowd  all  salute  him  with  great  heartiness.  It  is  the  father  of 
the  Emperor,  who  declined  the  crown,  it  will  be  remembered,  at  the 
abdication  of  his  brother  in  1848,  in  favor  of  Francis.  The  boy  at 
his  side  is  his  youngest  son. 

Following,  and  quite  putting  to  shame  his  simple  equipage,  ap- 
pears the  most  splendid  carriage  of  the  day,  with  four  handsome 
horses,  and  gilt  trappings,  and  out-riders  and  footmen.  Within  is 
a  little  man  with  a  red  cap  and  singular  costume,  who  keeps  almost 
continually  nodding  to  the  people.  He  looks  like  a  court-fool.  This  is 
the  Sovereign  of  the  old  Classic  Land — the  Bavarian  King  of  Greece. 
Not  far  behind  is  a  simple,  neat  carriage,  looking  something  like  one 
of  our  large  buggies,  but  with  two  perfectly  trained,  powerful  horses. 
There  are  two  footmen  in  white  liveries  behind,  and  in  front  sits  a 
young  man  driving.  He  is  dressed  in  the  usual  costume  of  an  Aua 
17 


386  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


trian  officer,  white  coat  and  small  green  cap.  His  face  has  a  thin 
and  worn  look,  and  gives  you  an  impression  of  a  person  of  no  great 
strength  of  character.  He  chats  easily  with  a  friend  at  his  side,  and 
occasionally  with  a  gentleman  who  rides  near  by.  He  holds  the 
reins  well,  and  seems  an  accomplished  "  whip," — and  that  is  all  you 
would  ever  notice  in  him.  Yet  that  man  is,  perhaps,  the  most  im- 
portant personage  of  ',heee  times  ;  the  absolute  monarch  of  the  Aus- 
trian Empire — the  Conqueror  of  Hungary  and  of  Italy — the  Leader 
of  Germany  and  the  great  and  almost  only  "Defender  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Faith."  On  his  will,  depend  perhaps  the  liberties  of  Ger- 
many, the  continuance  of  Hungary  as  a  nation,  and  the  safety,  if 
not  the  existence,  of  Protestantism  in  the  empire.  Do  you  notice 
the  gentleman  who  reins  up  near  him,  so  easily  and  steadily ; — a  fiery 
horse;  a  man  of  sharp  features  and  keen  eye,  with  full  whiskers, 
looking  much  like  one  of  our  New  York  "fast  men  ? "  This  is 
Count  Grunne,  the  chief  favorite,  the  initiator  of  the  young  Empe- 
ror into  the  mysteries  of  dissipation,  and  the  great  authority  on  all 
matters  of  the  chase  or  the  table.  He  has  acquired,  it  is  said,  a 
boundless  influence  over  the  young  man's  mind ;  and  through  him, 
the  whole  thoughts  and  attention  of  the  Emperor  are  given  up  to 
horses,  and  dogs,  and  soldiers'  uniforms,  and  all  inanner  of  trifles. 
Alas  for  thee,  Hungary,  and  Italy,  and  Bohemia,  when  such  are  thy 
rulers  ! 

I  know  no  so  grand  expression  of  wealth  and  rank,  as  fine  horses 
and  carriages.  They  give  an  idea  of  power,  which  scarcely  anything 
else  can  express.  The  Austrian  nobility  is  one  of  the  wealthiest  in 
Europe  ;  and  of  late  years,  they  have  devoted  much  attention  to  the 
breeding  of  horses.  The  display  to-day  in  horses  is  much  superior 
to  any  I  have  seen,  except  in  London.  Their  best  blooded  animals 
are  crosses  of  the  Arabian  with  the  English  hunter. 


VIENNESE   SHOWS.  387 


After  this  royal  party  v  came  an  indiscriminate  crowd  of  all  imagi- 
nable liveries  and  costumes,  whirling  rapidly  by.  There  is  Metter- 
tiich's  carriage  —  next  him  a  little  fisherman's  box  with  a  rough,  fast 
trotting  nag;  then  Esterhazy's,  then  a  nobleman's,  then  a  hack,  then 
a  buggy,  and  pressing  close  after  them,  amid  the  laugh  of  the  crowd, 
a  large  -wheeled,  long-thilled  sulky,  like  one  of  our  New  York  Third 
Avenue  turn  outs.  Uhlan  lancers  and  Austrian  dragoons  ;  Gren- 
zers  from  the  "  Borders,"  and  Jagers  from  Bohemia,  Hungarian 
Huzzars,  and  Viennese  police  mingle  pel-mell  in  the  hurrying 
line.  The  alleys  are  equally  lively.  There  the  neatly-dressed  gen- 
tleman from  the  city,  then  the  tall  Tyrolese  with  green  hat  and 
feather,  the  Turk  in  turban  and  robes,  the  Greek  with,  his  graceful 
red  cap,  the  Slovack  with  sheepskin  and  broad-brimmed  hat,  and  the 
peasant  women  with  bright  handkerchiefs  about  their  heads  ;  all 
merry  and  happy,  for  the  pleasure-loving  Viennese  are  in  their  ele- 
ment in  such  a  scene  as  this.  I  follow  the  crowd  almost  at  random. 
There  is  an  exhibition  of  the  "  Gigantic  English  horse;"  just  beyond 
in  a  tent,  "  The  unrivalled  panorama  of  the  Mississippi  ;  "  and  wedg- 
ing my  way  out  of  that  crowd,  I  find  a  large  company  seated  at 
tables  under  the  trees,  eating  ices  or  drinking  coffee,  while  an  excel- 
lent band  is  playing  in  the  balcony  of  the  restaurante  in  front. 
After  a  quiet  enjoyment,  sipping  an  ice  and  watching  the  party- 
colored  crowd,  I  turn  off  more  to  the  left  towards  the  "  Sausage 
park,"  as  it  is  called.  Here  they  are,  the  Volk—  the  pop- 
ulace —  of  Vienna  in  their  element!  Dances,  jugglery,  circuses, 
gymnastic  performances,  swings,  sail-boats  full  of  children  sailing  in 
imaginary  ponds  around  revolving  poles,  beer  tables,  sausage  tents, 
fruits,  meats,  puddings  —  everything  in  the  open  air,  and  all  mingled 
together  in  endless  confusion.  Every  one  full  of  the  enjoyment, 
and  very  unconscious  of  everything  else. 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


In  Berlin,  in  such  an  entertainment  as  this,  there  would  have  been 
a  moustachoed,  helmeted  policeman  at  every  beer-table.  Here,  ex- 
cept on  a  "  drive,"  to  regulate  the  procession,  I  have  scarcely  seen 
one.  As  is  well  known,  the  Austrian  paternal  government  likes 
nothing  better  than  to  see  its  good-natured  subjects  altogether, 
absorbed  in  show  and  pleasure.  Theatres,  and  wine,  and  women 
will  drive  all  impertinent  political  questionings  out  of  their  heads. 
Yet  probably  here,  there  was  not  a  tent  or  booth,  or  small  assembly, 
which  had  not  its  "  secret  police  "  officer,  or  its"government  agent." 
In  Austrian  diplomacy,  tyranny  must  never  be  shown,  where  it  can 
be  avoided. 


Sunday,  April 

I  have  just  seen  another  and  more  serious  side  of  Vienna- life 
which  has  impressed  me  very  much.  I  know  not  why  it  is,  but 
there  is  something  to  me  in  the  early  beauty  of  Spring,  more  thought- 
ful and  solemnizing,  than  any  other  aspect  of  nature.  And  I  have 
often  wondered,  whether  our  spring  Revivals  in  the  American 
churches,  or  the  long  and  serious  time  of  religious  penitence  and 
worship  in  the  Episcopal  and  Roman  Churches,  might  not  connect 
themselves  somewhat  with  this  feeling.  However  that  may  be> 
there  is  an  appropriateness  which  neither  Cant  on  the  one  side,  nor  Su- 
perstition on  the  other,  can  destroy,  in  the  reviving  of  religious  feel- 
ing with  this  beautiful  revival  of  nature.  I  had  felt  this  through 
my  whole  journey,  and  it  was  with  no  slight  readiness  for  religious 
impressions  that  I  entered  this  bright  Sabbath  morning  the  old  Ca- 
thedral of  St.  Stephen.  The  building  is  capable  of  holding  some 
three  or  four  thousand  people  without  any  inconvenience,  and  this 
morning  it  was  full  throughout.  A  scene,  most  solemn  and  im- 


CATHOLIC    WORSHIP.  389 


pressive.  I  had  never  appreciated  before  the  power  of  the  Catholic 
worship.  Of  course  in  our  country  one  sees  nothing  of  it,  and  in 
France — at  least  in  Paris — the  people  are  so  indifferent,  and  the 
whole  service  is  so  dramatic,  that  it  produces  no  great  effect.  On 
the  Rhine,  too,  there  are  such' crowds  of  spectators  in  the  churches 
that  a  general  air  of  earnestness  is  wanting.  Here,  however,  de- 
spite the  immense  crowd,  there  was  the  stillness  and  solemnity  of 
our  own  most  affecting  religious  services.  Scarcely  any  one  was 
looking  around  to  watch  any  one  else ;  very  many  were  kneeling  on 
the  stone  pavement  in  silent  prayer,  others  reading  from  the  prayer- 
book,  or  bowing  before  the  altar  to  partake  of  the  communion 
wafer.  Everything  added  to  the  impressiveness.  The  massive  and 
antique  architecture,  the  soft-glowing  light,  the  shadowy  arches,  the 
ornament^  rich,  yet  in  harmony  with  the  old  and  time-worn  build- 
ing, and  everywhere  tending  less  to  dazzle  than  to  impress. 

If  there  is  anything  in  proportion,  in  grandeur,  in  harmony  of 
outline,  in  beauty  of  form,  and  of  coloring,  of  itself  adapted  to  call  out 
or  to  aid  religious  feelings,  then  was  the  old  Cathedral  of  St.  Stephen 
wonderfully  framed  for  religious  worship.  The  pictures  too  !  One 
evidently  gets  no  appropriate  idea  of  religious  paintings  as  they  are 
placed  in  galleries.  They  were  never  made  to  be  set  in  rows  in 
bright,  bare  rooms,  with  sharp-eyed  connoisseurs  clustered  around 
them,  any  more  than  the  beautiful  thoughts  and  passages  of  Shaks- 
peare  to  be  gathered  in  one  book.  They  must  be  taken  with  theii 
natural  accompaniments.  Here,  in  a  shadowy  niche,  with  just  light 
enough  to  see  the  upturned  look  of  pain,  and  while  the  rites  of 
worship  are  still  going  on  around,  a  "  Head  of  Christ  "  is  peculiarly 
affecting ;  but  when  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  them  are  in  one  haH, 
with  all  kinds  of  Satyrs  and  doubtful  Nymphs  distributed  among 
them,  the  effect  ia  gone.  These  stiff  old  pictures  of  martyrs  and  saints 


390  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 

too,  which  look  so  out  of  place  in  a  modern  gallery,  seem  entirely 
appropriate  and  natural  in  these  venerable  churches.  I  could  not 
but  feel  the  effect  of  them  in  this  Cathedral.  There  were  pictures 
of  Christ  in  his  sufferings,  rough,  but  powerfully  drawn,  which  in 
the  solemn  stillness  I  could  most  vividly  realize,  and  could  hardly 
gaze  at  without  tears.  The  martyrs,  portrayed  in  their  torments  or 
their  triumphs,  seemed  for  the  first  time  like  the  ideal  of  the  artist ; 
noble  and  pure  men,  who  had  died  for  the  truth. 

To  these  sources  of  impression  was  added  the  full  and  rich  swell 
of  music,  which  softened  by  the  distance  of  the  choir,  reached  one's 
feelings  with  an  indescribable,  touching  effect.  Surely  one  of  the 
objects  of  Church  music  is  to  soften  the  feelings  and  prepare  the 
mind  for  religious  thoughts ;  and  in  this  respect,  one  must  allow 
that  no  form  of  worship  is  superior  to  the  Roman  Catholic.  The 
full  force  of  it,  I  felt  that  morning.  And,  as  I  knelt  in  prayer  with 
the  crowd,  I  could  not  but  believe  that  in  all  the  superstition  around 
me,  there  were  many  who  worshipped  the  Invisible  Being  as  purely 
and  spiritually  as  I.  I  felt  glad -to  think  that  all  which  this  mum- 
mery originally  pictured,  was  equally  reverenced  by  me.  This  mild 
and  suffering  face  which  meets  one  on  every  column,  this  bowed  and 
stricken  form,  are  representations  of  Him  whom  Protestant  and 
Catholic  can  equally  adore.  This  cross  carved  on  every  beam-  and 
in  every  niche,  which  the  crowd  mechanically  imitate  with  their 
gestures,  is  the  emblem  to  us,  too,  of  the  Greatest  of  all  events. 
These  men,  pictured  in  all  forms  of  pain  and  torment,  are  those 
whom  we  equally  with  them,  can  reverence  as  the  noble  martyrs  for 
Truth. 

I  was  glad  that  the  idea  at  the  ground  of  this  worship  was  no 
false  one,  and  that  in  its  origin,  and  sometimes  now,  in  its  practice, 
there  was  something  true  and  good. 


THE    PRIESTS.  391 


I  went  out  conscious  that  it  had  not  been  the  worse  for  me,  being 
in  the  Catholic  Cathedral,  and  half  ashamed,  as  I  met  a  proces- 
sion with  a  crucifix,  that  I  did  not  take  off  my  hat  too,  with  the 
crowd. 

These  were  the  first  impressions  from  the  Catholic  worship ;  but 
I  am  bound  to  say,  what  hardly  need  be  said,  that  there  is  an  en- 
tirely different  side  to  the  picture.  Nothing  is  more  calculated  to 
destroy  any  good  impressions  with  regard  to  the  Romanists  of  Aus- 
tria, than  a  sight  of  the  priests  themselves.  I  am  in  the  habit  of 
judging  much  from  the  form  of  the  face  and  shape  of  the  head,  of 
a  man's  character,  and  I  must  say,  more  unpromising  physiogno- 
mies and  "organs  "  I  have  seldom  seen,  than  on  these  men.  There 
was  a  sneaking,  under-handed  expression  to  them  which  could  not 
belong  to  men  whose  manhood  had  been  properly  developed.  Their 
heads  were,  some  of  them,  base,  and  animal,  and  sensual ;  or  so 
deficient  in  the  intellectual  and  so  developed  in  certain  moral  pro- 
pensities, as  to  indicate  most  distorted  natures  ;  or,  as  was  the  case 
with  most,  with  a  full  intellectual  shape,  but  with  au  expression  of 
astuteness,  cunning,  suppleness,  very  disagreeable  to  look  upon.  I 
did  not  see  one  genuine,  manly,  intelligent  face.  Then,  to  observe 
the  slavish  adoration  of  the  crowd  to  them,  to  watch  their  own 
mummeries,  to  become  more  and  more  convinced  of  the  ignorance 
and  stupidity  of  the  masses,  whose  education  mostly  depends  on 
them, — all  this,  step  by  step,  has  given  me  such  an  impression  of 
the  curse  which  they  are  to  the  whole  nation,  that  I  have  felt  ready  > 
to  vow  myself  forever  more,  to  the  most  Puritanic  simplicity,  rather 
than  to  bring  upon  mankind  again  this  accursed  hierarchy. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

LIFE  IN  VIENNA. 

I  FIND  the  mode  of  life  and  manners  among  various  classes  here, 
quite  different  from  that  in  North  Germany.  Nobody  seems  to 
live  at  home  much.  A  friend  invites  you  to  meet  him  at  a  cafe  or 
restaurante,  instead  of  his  house.  You  find  your  acquaintances  in 
gardens,  and  promenades,  and  concerts,  and  wine-saloons,  and  sel- 
dom anywhere  else.  People  come  before  you  as  more  lively,  gay, 
passionate,  than  in  the  North,  but  with  less  intellectuality.  The 
subjects  for  conversation  are  more  from  music  and  dress,  and  inci- 
dents in  every-day  life.  Books  are  not  much  read  or  spoken  of; 
and  important  or  serious  matters  seem  generally  avoided.  Yet  are 
the  Viennese  a  very  social,  kind-hearted,  cheerful  people,  with  muck 
real  force  and  deep  feeling  I  am  convinced,  if  they  were  in  circum- 
stances to  awaken  it. 

The  ladies  dress  much  more  richly,  than  in  North  Germany, 
though  in  the  morning  you  will  often  see  a  lady  of  rank  riding  round 
to  the  shops  in  an  old  merino  and  a  common  velvet  bonnet,  which 
would  almost  shame  one  of  our  belles.  With  the  fashionable  classes, 
the  day  begins  at  noon.  After  a  light  breakfast,  comes  the  drive  in 
the  Prater,  and  amusement  till  the  dinner  hour,  from  4  to  6.  The 
time  for  receiving  calls  is  from  dinner  till  7|  o'clock,  the  hour  for 


A   REVOLUTIONIST.  393 

opera.  After  this,  at  9|  and  10  o'clock,  the  parties  and  balls  begin, 
ai  last  often  till  8  or  9  in  the  morning.  Though  rules  for  inter- 
i.rse  are  very  strict,  all  accounts  represent  the  aristocracy  of  Vienna, 
as  the  most  dissolute  in  Europe.  Liaisons  seem  strangely  public; 
and  married  ladies  drive  out  with  their  lovers.  Prince  Schwarzen- 
berg  is  living  openly  now  with  the  wife  an  officer,  who  is  said  to  be 
quite  proud  of  the  honor  ! 


APRIL,  1851. 

I  went  last  evening  to  call  on  a  mechanic,  to  whom  a  friend  in 
Hamburg  had  given  mo  a  letter.  He  is  living  in  one  of  the  suburbs, 
in  the  third  floor  of  a  large  house.  He  received  me  most  heartily 
as  an  American,  A  dark-browed,  dark-haired  man,  who  looks  just 
the  one  for  a  leader  in  a  desperate  enterprise.  I  met  him  cordially, 
but  let  him  lead  the  conversation.  He  did  not  wait  long. 

"  I  wish  I  was  in  America  !  I  would  go  there,  but  there  may 
great  events  happen  here,  in  a  few  years,  and  I  want  to  be  on  hand. 
Ach  !  you  are  happy  there  !  Here  they  have  conquered.  Nothing 
but  tyranny  and  priestcraft  for  us ! " 

"  You  saw  the  Revolution,  I  suppose  ! " 

"  Ach,  yes !  I  see  you  are  to  be  trusted,  from  this  letter,  and  I 
will  tell  you.  I  fought  through  every  street  with  these  accursed  sol- 
diers !  We  did  not  yield  an  inch  without  blood.  Come  to  the 
window !  You  see  that  long  line  of  blotches  along  those  handsome 
house-fronts  there?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Those  are  from  grape-shot  We  lined  those  fine  houses  with 
picked  shooters,  and  the  soldiers  could  not  get  on  a  step — and 
so  the  battery  kept  up  a  tremendous  fire  right  through  that  broad 
17* 


394  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


street.  They  could  not  dislodge  us,  until  they  got  some  men  around 
in  the  gardens,  in  the  rear  of  those  houses.  Mein  Gott !  what  a 
time  was  that !  I  had  a  company  in  that — you  see  it — that  tall 
stuccoed  building.  There  was  no  escape  in  the  rear — and,  in  front, 
the  grape  swept  like  a  tempest.  So  I  went  up  to  the  attic,  and  a 
part  of  us  kept  up  a  continued  fire,  while  the  rest  broke  through  the 
wall  into  the  next  house — and  so  we  went  on  from  house  to  house* 
sometimes  climbing  over  the  roof.  I  went  last — and  lost  but  one, 
poor  fellow,  who  was  picked  off,  just  as  we  were  scrambling  over  a 
roof." 

"  Have  you  any  hopes  of  trying  it  again,"  said  I. 

"  Certainly.  This  war  shall  never  end,  till  tyrants  or  people  are 
gone.  I  know  how  the  working-men  feel.  Give  them  another 
chance,  and  they  will  fight  till  the  last  man.  We  cannot  bear  this 
long  !  Taxes,  spying — every  damned  annoyance  of  tyranny.  We 
get  little  work — we  have  no  kind  of  freedom — and  then  we  are  pay- 
ing all  the  while  for  these  immense  armies.  You  have  no  idea  of 
the  brutal  oppression  here.  Every  day  women  are  publicly 
scourged — you  must  have  seen  the  Notizen  on  the  walls — and  if  I 
should  go  out  with  a  white  hat  or  a  long  beard,  I  would  be  in  the 
guard-house  in  an  hour !" 

So  he  went  on,  in  tones  earnest  and  passionate,  telling  of  the 
wrongs  and  sufferings  of  the  laboring  classes — the  dark  eye  kindling 
at  the  thought  of  fighting  the  good  fight  over  again  with  the  hire- 
ling soldiery.  A  determined,  dangerous  man  for  the  Austrian  au- 
thorities, when  the  next  struggle  comes. 


To-day,  I  have  delivered  some  letters  to  a  genuine  Vienna  gentle- 
man, living  in  the  centre  of  the  old  city,  where,  strangely,  are  the 


A    MERCHANT.  395 


most  aristocratic  houses.  Very  polite,  profuse  in  his  offers  of  service ; 
evidently  could  make  nothing  of  me.  A  traveller,  not  interested  in 
theatres— not  going  to  the  Casino-ball—lives  in  lodgings  and  en 
route  for  Hungary  !  An  anomaly  to  the  Viennese.  He  accompa- 
nies me  to  the  door  a»d  bows  me  out  with  the  sweetest  "  Unter 
thunigster  Diener  /"  (Most  humble  servant !) — and  I  receive  a  note 
of  invitation  in  the  evening,  directed  to  Herr  von  B . 


I  find  a  great  deal  of  genuine  activity  in  the  government,  in  mat- 
ters of  education.  The  Ministry  have  kindly  furnished  me  with 
documents,  and  every  convenience  for  studying  the  system. 
COUNT  THUN,  himself,  has  been  truly  friendly.  A  condensed  sketch 
of  these  improvements  has  already  been  given  to  the  public.*  The 
main  points  are  the  introduction  of  the  voluntary  system  in  the 
Universities ;  and  the  connecting  the  various  popular  schools  by 
gradations  with  one  another.  I  am  convinced  that  there  is  a  spirit 
of  real  reform  abroad  ;  and  that  the  Professors  and  the  Ministry  of 
Instruction  are  laboring  to  raise  the  standard  of  education.  The 
great  drawback,  which  either  originates  with  Count  Thun's  rigid  Ro- 
manist views,  or  from  the  obstinacy  of  the  priests,  is  that  many  of 
the  people's  schools  must  still  be  left  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy. 
The  influence  of  the  Catholic  priesthood  is  one  of  the  great  causes 
which  check  all  progress  in  Austria. 

I  find  the  Protestants  have  a  very  precarious  foothold  here.    They 

*  "  Hungary  in  1851,"  p  3.  A  full  description  of  the  improvements  in  the 
Austrian  School  System,  put  forth  by  the  Austrian  Government,  has  been 
deposited  by  the  author  in  the  Yale  College  Library,  New  Haven,  Ct.,  for 
public  examination. 


396  SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  GERMANY. 


are  barely  permitted  to  exist,  and  are  in  constant  fear  of  having 
their  meetings  broken  up,  as  those  of  the  Freien  Gemeinden  or 
<4  German  Catholics"  have  been.  I  attended  the  Protestant  service 
last  Sunday,  in  a  room  like  one  of  our  large  "  conference  rooms." 
A  very  simple,  fervent  exercise,  and  much  more  satisfactory  than 
those  which  I  have  listened  to,  generally,  in  North-Germany. 


My  friend ,  a  scientific  gentleman  and  known  as  a  man 

of  liberal  sentiments,  asked  me  to  dine  with  him  to-day,  and  meet  a 
small  number  of  his  friends.  The  hour  was  to  be  four  o'clock.  I 
rung  at  the  time — the  door  was  opened  by  a  smart-looking  man- 
servant in  livery,  who  conducted  me  to  the  drawing-room,  where 
Mr. met  me  with  the  usual  oft-repeated  "  most  humble  ser- 
vant," and  warm  shakes  of  the  hand — and  then  led  me  to  die  gnd- 
dige  Frau"  ("  the  gracious  lady"),  as  they  caU  the  mistress  of  the 
house.  There  were  several  rooms  opening  into  one  another,  very 
handsomely  furnished — much  more  richly  than  the  houses  in  North 
Germany.  The  floor  was  oak  in  mosaic  and  waxed.  No  books  on 
the  tables,  but  many  Chinese  articles,  and  vases  and  mirrors.  The 
walls  delicately  painted  in  frescoe  and  arabesque — a  so  much  more 
beautiful  style  than  our  papering.  This  room  was  filled  with  little  otto- 
mans and  sofas,  like  our  own  parlors.  The  ladies  were  in  full  dress, 
and  looking  very  pretty,  though  in  general  the  cast  of  face  was  a  little 
different  from  the  common  German  type — more  harsh  and  passion- 
ate— half-brunette.  The  manners  of  all  were  very  condial  and  easy. 

"  Himmlisch  !  Heavenly  !  heavenly  ! "  I  heard  soon  from  a 
group  in  one  corner,  and  on  going  there,  found  them  looking  at 
some  beautiful  little  specimens  of  Bohemian  glass-ware. 


COST    OF    LIVING.  397 


"  Have  you  anything  half  so  pretty  in  America,  Herr  B.  ?  "  said 
one  to  me  ;  "  look  at  this  Ampel !  " 

It  was  a  beautiful  little  hanging  glass  vase  for  dower-vines,  the 
prettiest  ornament  in  the  German  houses,  swinging  amid  the  curtains 
of  the  window,  or  on  the  balcony.  I  expressed  my  admiration  for 
it,  and  the  conversation  then  turned  on  the  ornaments  in  American 
and  German  houses.  "  Ach  !  you  will  not  see,"  said  one,  "  such 
pretty  furniture  in  our  houses  now  as  once — it  costs  so  much  to 
live.  The  funds  are  so  low,  you  know,  and  all  that.'' 

One  of  them  asked  me  soon  about  the  expenses  of  living  in 
America,  especially  in  the  large  cities,  and  whether  ladies  went  to  the 
theatre  in  their  own  carriage,  <fec.  I  told  them  as  nearly  as  I  could, 
and  then  asked  about  the  style  and  cost  in  different  ranks  in  Vienna. 
They  talked  the  matter  over,  making  different  statements,  and 
finally  one  said :  "  It  is  very  hard,  Herr  B.,  to  say  exactly.  There 
are  out  great  nobles,  who  are  as  rich  as  princes — but  you 
mean  the  middle  classes,  eh  ?  Well  first,  for  the  Professors  and 
such  people.  Prof.  H.,— you  know  him — gets  about  3000 
Gulden  ($1500)  a-year ;  some  only  2000.  The  merchants  and 
professional  men  live  on — some  of  them— 2000,  ($1000,)  up  to 
20,000  ($10,000.)  I  should  think  a  good  average  income  for  the 
merchants,  would  be  4000  Gulden— though  that  would  hardly  keep 
a  carriage.  People  are  rather  extravagant  here  in  Wien.  I  have 
been  in  Berlin  and  Dresden,  and  I  know  it  costs  twice  as  much  here. 
One  must  go  to  the  opera,  you  know,  and  for  my  part,  I  fall  sick,  if 
I  do  not  have  a  drive  in  the  Prater.  In  Berlin,  I  could  stay  in  the 
house  more,  over  books,  though  it  was  very  langweilig,  (stupid,)  was 
it  not,  liebe  Tante  ?  "  This  was  addressed,  very  affectionately,  to  a 
tpirituelle,  dignified  elderly  lady,  who  had  just  joined  us. 

"  No,  liebes  Kind,  dear  child,  I  did  not  find  it  so ! " 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


"  Why,  aunt !  you  do  not  mean  to  say  you  like  cold  North  Ger- 
many best  ? — better  than  la  belle  Vienne  ?  " 

"  I  do.  I  always  have,  in  many  respects.  We  are  not  so  much 
cultivated  here.  Our  society  is  not  so  thoughtful.  It  is  true,  it  is 
very  pleasant  here  in  the  cheerful,  sunny  south — but  I  do  not  find 
it  so  satisfying — and  to  you  here  I  feel  free  to  confess,  it  pains  me, 
pains  me  every  day,  to  see  the  condition  of  the  people ! " 

"  Ach,  Xante — nichts  politisch  !  no  politics  !"  said  the  young  lady. 
"  I  was  not  thinking  of  that,  but  are  we  not  much  the  warmest 
hearted  here,"  and  most  poetic  ?  They  are  so  cold  and  prosy  in  the 
North." 

"I  do  not  know  that,"  replied  the  other.  "You  are  more  expres- 
sive here,  but  their  feelings  stand  trial  much  better — are  more  last- 
ing. -Still  I  would  never  forget  that  many  of  our  most  beautiful 
souls  in  Germany — poets  and  writers,  are  from  the  South." 

After  farther  talk  of  this  kind,  I  took  the  liberty  of  asking  the 
lady,  who  had  defended  the  North,  whether  she  was  not  originally 
from  Hanover  ?  She  answered  that  she  was,  and  inquired  with  some 
surprise,  how  I  knew  it.  I  told  her  it  was  from  the  purity  of  her 
accent,  the  Hanoverian  tone  and  pronunciation  being  generally 
quite  distinct  and  peculiar." 

"  Ach  !  you  are  noticing  our  accent  It  is  shrecklich  !  horrible  1" 
said  one  of  the  young  ladies.  "  Have  you  observed  the  Viennese 
never  says  Ich  but  Ik,  and  nicht  is  always  nit,  and  kann  is  kawnn 
I  am  forever  running  into  it  before  I  think." 

"  It  is  not  so  much  matter,"  said  another,  "  for  almost  as  many 
epeak  French  and  English  now,  as  our  own  language.  "Your  Eng- 
lish is  spoken  everywhere." 

In  the  other  drawing-room,  I  found  several  gentlemen  gathered, 
whom  I  was  very  anxious  to  know  better.  One  a  University  pro- 


AN    EXPLOIT.  399 


fessor,  a  keen,  clear-headed  man  from  one  of  the  Northern  univer- 
sities, who,  though  a  loyal  servant  of  the  Emperor,  is  doing  good 
service  also  for  the  people — in  attempting  to  improve  the  means  of 
education.  Another,  a  civilian  who  usually  passed  under  the  title  of 
Doctor,  I  was  very  desirous  to  see. 

When  in  Prussia,  I  had  been  much  with  his  intimate  friends,  and 
they  had  confided  to  me  •  his  most  adventurous  history.  He  had 
reached  Vienna  accidentally  the  very  day  the  Revolution  of  '48 
broke  out,  and  without  a  word  from  any  one,  disguised  in  a  Tyrolese 
costume,  he  had  gone  out  with  his  trusty  rifle,  and  had  fought  the 
streets  step  by  step,  against  the  soldiers.  I  knew  his  friend,  who 
was  at  his  side  through  much  of  it.  He  said  that  the  Doctor  never 
seemed  to  fire,  without  a  white  coat  coming  down.  His  aim  was 
as  cool,  as  if  shooting  ducks.  The  students  finally  began  to  notice 
that  the  Tyrol  hat  was  always  at  the  head,  wherever  there  was  dan- 
ger, and  they  at  last  sent  an  officer  to  him,  requesting  his  name  for 
the  "  Student  Committee,"  that  they  might  suitably  promote  him. 
He  declined  giving  it — preferring  to  fight  by  himself.  There  came 
an  emergency  at  length,  in  the  siege  of  Vienna  by  Windisgratz, 
when,  if  a  message  could  be  carried  beyond  the  besieging  lines,  the 
city  might  be  saved.  Kossuth  with  a  brave  army,  flushed  with  'vic- 
tory, lay  within  thirty  or  forty  miles  distance.  If  the  condition  of 
Vienna  could  be  intelligently  stated  to  him,  it  was  thought  he  would 
not  hesitate  to  deliver  the  city  and  terminate  the  war.  But  the 
difficulty  was,  to  find  the  man.  The  Committee  of  Students  met — 
offered  rewards,  made  patriotic  appeals — but  no  one  would  present 
himself  to  the  almost  certain  danger,  of  either  being  shot  by  the 

sentinels  or  hung  as  a  spy.     Dr. ,  the  moment  he  heard  of  the 

case,  offered  himself  to  some  of  the  leaders,  refusing  still  to  give 
his  name — and  only  demanded  one  companion,  and  two  of  the  best 


400  SOCIAL  LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


horses  of  Vienna.     A  comrade  was  easily  found,  if  he  would  lead, 
and  two  blood-horses  from  the  Emperor's  stables  were  brought  out 
The  Doctor  presented  himself,  dressed  in  the  height  of  the  sporting 
fashion — red  coat,  white  breeches,  handsome  top-boots,  nice  gloves 
and  the  et  cetera,  while  the  other  followed   as  groom.     They  rode 
leisurely  out  from  the  gates  of  Vienna,  and  at  some  distance  came 
upon  the  first  sentinel.     He  demanded  the  "  word  !"  and  the  Doctor 
muttered  something  and  rode  quietly  on.     The   soldier  supposing 
it  was  some  country  gentleman,  did  not  fire.     The  two  now  turned 
by  cross  road*,  which  they  knew  and  penetrated  some  distance,  be- 
fore the  challenge  startled  them  again.     This  time,  bowing   their 
heads  to  their  horses'  necks,  they  struck  in  their  spurs  and  sprang 
on.     There  was  a  quick  shot — without  effect — and  then  a  hot  pur- 
suit.    Their  horses,  however,  soon   distanced  the  hussars.     After 
this,  they  were  not  molested,  the  sentinels  supposing  them  a  gentle- 
man  and  servant  living  within   the  lines.     When  nearly  through, 
they  were  suddenly  surprised  by  the  sight  of  a  knot  of  officers  in 
front  of  an  inn  which   they  must  pass.     Fearing,  that  if  they  redo 
by,  the  Austrians  might  suspect  something,  the  gentleman  with  a 
most  characteristic  coolness  rode  up  to  the  door,  dismounted,  and 
called  for  wine,  and  was  soon  in  a  very  social  talk  with  the  Aus- 
trian officers,  even  inviting  them  to  call  at  his  country-seat,  near  by. 
They  parted  amicably,  and  in  a  few  hours  the  two  were"  far  beyond 
the  Austrian  lines.     On  reaching  the  Hungarian  camps,  they  were 
conducted  to  Kossuth,  and  stated   their  mission.     He  himself,  was 
in  favor  of  marching  directly  on  Vienna — how  much  might  have 
been   saved,  had  he  done   so  ! — but  his   officers   and  "companions 
opposed  it,  as  being  a  step  beyond  the  design  of  the  Hungarian 
movement — as  committing  them  irretrievably  to  a  war  with  all  the 
arbitrary  powers.     The  ambassador  plead  much,  and  eloquently — 


THE   "RUN."  401 

\  

but  to  no  purpose,  and  he  and  his  companion  returned  on  their 
hazardous  enterprise.  The  escapes  on  the  way  back,  were  as  won- 
derful as  before.  At  the  last  line  of  sentinels,  their  muttered  reply 
was  not  enough.  The  sentinel  fired,  wounding  the  groom's  horse, 
and  in  a  moment  the  patrolling  hussars  were  in  rapid  pursuit.  It  was 
a  terrible  run.  I  have  often  heard  the  Doctor  relate  it.  He  himself 
could  easily  have  escaped,  but,  of  course,  he  would  not  abandon  his 
comrade.  They  were  often  within  pistol-shot  of  the  hussars,  and 
once  he  had  raised  his  pistol  on  the  foremost,  but  without  firing. 
He  is  a  dead  shot,  and  had  resolved  to  sell  his  life  dearly.  There 
was  no  need.  Just  at  nightfall,  they  came  within  range  of  the  gates. 
A  joyful  shout  from  the  walls — quickly  rattling  shots  among  their 
pursuers — and  their  jaded  and  bloody  horses  were  just  able  to  bear 
them  safely  in. 

Besides  this  adventure,  I  had  known  of  the  Doctor's  going  down 
into  Croatia,  in  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  fighting  on  his  own 
account  on  the  side  of  the  Hungarians — always  at  the  most  dan- 
gerous outposts,  never  accepting  a  commission  or  honor — as  cool  in 
the  battle  as  in  the  drawing-room,  and  an  unerring  shot. 

I  had  pictured  to  myself  beforehand  a  real  lover  of  the  battle — a 
brawny,  blustering,  swearing  blade,  who  would  be  most  disagreeable 
anywhere,  except  at  your  side  in  a  tough  fight.  I  found,  however, 
a  very  quiet,  modest,  polite  gentleman,  attentive  to  the  ladies,  with 
no  especial  marks  of  courage,  except  only  a  certain  steady  directness 
of  eye  in  looking  at  you,  which  I  have  always  observed  in  men  much 
accustomed  to  shoot,  and  who  have  been  tried  much  in  scenes  of 
danger.  I  saw  him  frequently  afterwards.  He  never  would  speak 
of  his  adventures,  except  under  great  solicitation  ;  and  only  occasionly 
alluded,  in  a  quiet  way,  among  his  intimates  to  his  "  little  ride  in'48." 
A  true  man  for  these  stormy  times ;  and  to  be  heard  from  again,  I  hope. 


402  SOCIAL    LIFE   IN   GERMANY. 


Luckily  for  him,  my  acquaintance  with  him  was  never  suspected 
by  the  Austrian  police.  It  was  strange  how  well  in  this  very  com- 
pany, my  instincts  were  afterwards  confirmed.  There  was  a  big 
blustering  man,  who  thumped  the  table  and  often  protested  loud 
friendship  for  me,  and  cursed  the  government  violently  when  I  met 
him  at  his  house,  whom  I  always  suspected  to  be  a  sneak  ;  and  there 
were  others  on  whom  unconsciously  I  had  a  most  unwavering  re- 
liance. Afterwards  in  my  imminent  peril,  this  quiet  Doctor  and  some 
others  as  unexpressive  friends  risked  their  lives  for  me,  while  the  others 
either  utterly  disowned  me  to  the  police,  or  acted  like  children.  There 
was  a  very  interesting  English  gentleman  present,  who  had  almost 
forgotten  his  English,  who  stood  by  me,  also,  in  a  noble  manner 
afterwards — as  I  should  have  known  he  would,  and  who  was  obliged 
to  leave  the  capital,  after  his  long  residence  there,  in  consequence 
of  his  interference. 

Our  dinner-table  was  set  out  very  handsomely,  with  more  of 
beautiful  glass-ware  than  I  had  been  accustomed  to  see — and  with 
a  greater  variety  of  wine — indicating  the  neighborhood  of  wine 
countries. 

"  Have  you  seen  everything  in  our  beautiful  Wien  ;  and  do  you 
not  like  it  all  ?  "  said  the  lady  next  me. 

"  All  except  the  trottoirs"  I  replied,  "  they  are  execrable  ;  it  is 
really  risking  one's  life  to  go  sight-seeing  on  foot  in  Vienna  ! " 

"  But  you  must  not  leave  anything,"  said  she.  "  There  is  the 
People's  Theatre,  close  by  you  in  the  Leopoldstadt.  You  get  the 
best  broad  Viennese  wit  there.  Then  have  you  seen  the  dance- 
halls  ?  travellers  always  go  there  ;  and  we  ladies,  too,  s'ometimes  for 
curiosity.  They  dance  till  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  And  you 
must  taste  all  the  Vienna  ices,  better  even  than  the  Paris ;  and  our 
puddings,  perhaps  we  can  show  you  some  to-day." 


PICTURES. 


"  And  you  should  not  forget,  Herr  B.,  our  works  of  art,"  said  the 
elderly  lady,  of  whom  I  have  before  spoken.  I  inquired  more  par- 
ticularly of  them. 

"You  know  the  public  galleries  of  course  from  your  guide-books. 
The  collection  of  Rubens  in  Prince  Lichtenstein's,  one  of  the  best  in 
Europe ;  and  the  Spanish  school  at  Esterhazy's.  The  engravings 
you  must  not  forget — perhaps  the  finest  collection  in  the  world — 
they  are  in  the  royal  Palace.  But  you  must  see  beside  some  of  our 
private  ateliers,  to-judge  of  modern  Austrian  art.  There  is  Professor 
Rahl's  studio.  I  think  you  told  me  you  knew  him." 

I  told  her,  I  had  been  introduced  to  him,  and  had  seen  a  large 
work  he  was  preparing  for  a  gentleman  in  Boston.  "  A  rich 
colorist,"  I  said,  "  but  he  seemed  to  me  somewhat  meretricious." 

"  Ah,  you  speak  of  that  Venus  nude  !  Yes ;  you  are  right.  In 
fact,  our  school  is  not  as  simple  as  the  Northern,  though  superior  in 
my  opinion  to  that  finiciil  Diisscldorf." 

*  But,  Herr  B.,"  said  the  young  lady,  "  you  should  have  seen  the 
great  picture  of  the  year,  here  last  winter.  Ach  !  Himmel !  De  la 
Roche's  ' Napoleon  on  the  Alps!'  All  Vienna  was  en  fureur 
for  it ! " 

I  had  ?een  it,  I  said,  in  the  gentleman's  gallery  who  had  owned 
it,  in  Leipsic. 

T  inquired,  whether  any  of  Calaris  landscapes  could  be  found  in 
Vienna.  I  had  never  seen  but  two,  but  they  seemed  to  me  the 
finest ;  and,  indeed,  the  only  satisfactory  landscapes  I  had  ever  met, 
except  Turner's. 

"  So  !  Calam  !  I  think  there  is  one  here.  I  will  inquire.  I 
see  you  English  always  speak  much  of  Turner.  We  do  not  know 
him  at  all  in  Germany.  The  truth  is,  we  cannot  often  afford  to  buy 
paintings  from  England." 


404  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


"  But  especially,"  said  the  elder  lady,  or  Madame  Von  Z ,  as 

I  found  she  was  called,  "  you  must  see  Canova's  funeral  group  in 
the  Church  of  the  Augustines." 

I  told  her  I  had  seen  it ;  and  that  I  scarcely  ever  saw  statuary 
which  affected  me  more  at  the  first  impression.  The  white  marble 
forms  against  the  dark  opening  of  the  tomb  which  they  were  enter- 
ing, every  line  so  sad  and  drooping ;  nothing  affected  ;  no  attempt 
to  show  features  which  should  be  concealed ;  the  bowed  matron 
with  the  urn,  the  tottering  old  man,  the  sorrowful  maiden,  the  bit- 
terly-weeping child,  the  crouched  lion  at  the  portal.  It  made  an 
impression  of  sorrow  so  much  on  me,  that  I  could  not  refrain  from 
tears,  without  having  really  known  the  design  intended.  But  the 
effect  was  exceedingly  injured,  when  I  turned  to  my  guide-book,  and 
found  it  was  an  "  allegorical  group." 

"  Yes  ;  that  is  true.  I  felt  it  at  first  in  the  same  way.  I  never 
enjoy  allegorical  designs." 

"  Ich  bitte  Sie,  Herr  B. ! — pardon  !  "  interrupted  our  host,  "  you 
are  not  doing  justice  to  the  wine.  There  is  the  Hungarian  cham- 
pagne by  you,  or  the  Adelsberger — an  excellent  wine,  I  can  recom- 
mend it.  Here,  Karl!  fill  up  a  glass  of  Menesch — the  extract,  sir! 
I  imported  it  from  Hungary  myself  !  Zu  Ihrer  Gesundtheit — 
your  health  ! "  I  bowed  and  sipped  of  the  little  thimble-glass,  filled 
with  a  dark,  sweet,  cordial-like  wine 

"  Herr  L.  says  ytu  are  going  into  Hungary.  Is  it  so  ? "  said  one 
of  the  ladies  to  me. 

"  Yes." 

"  Why  do  you  ?  What  can  you  find  there  ?  There  is  no  good 
theatre  now  in  Pesth,  since  the  Revolution,  and  the  roads  are  terri- 
ble. Ungarn  always  seems  so  far  off.  I  would  rather  take  a  trip 


DINNER   TALK.  405 

to  England,  for  the  trouble  of  it.  Then  I  should  not  like  to  see  that 
poor  people  now,  die  armen  !  " 

"  But  do  you  not  like  the  Hungarians,  here  ? "  said  I. 

"  Oh  yes,  we  all  like  them.  They  are  great  favorites  in  Vienna — 
that  is  the  men — we  think  the  women  a  little  ungebildet,  (unculti- 
vated,) you  know.  But  the  gentlemen  are  real  cavaliers —  very 
manly-looking  !  They  have  not  at  all  your  odious  English  custom 
of  shaving  the  face.  They  think  it  girlish.  Do  you  see  what  an 
influence  we  have  had  on  Meester  N.  ? "  and  she  pointed  to  the  full 
beard  and  moustache  of  the  English  gentleman. 

All  other  conversation  was  now  absorbed  in  a  discussion,  going  on 
in  the  middle  of  the  table,  around  our  host.  He  was  denouncing 
the  financial  measures  of  the  Government,  as  utterly  ill-judged  and 
insufficient.  This  issuing  of  paper,  he  said,  was  only  putting  off  the 
evil  day.  There  must  be  thorough  measures,  or  Austria  would  be 
bankrupt.  Retrenchment !  economy  !  that  was  the  only  thing. 

"  But  look  at  this  taxation  ! "  said  the  Professor  ;  "  this  will  soon 
go  far  towards  meeting  the  difficulty." 

"  Ich  bitte  Sie,  Verzeihung — I  beg  your  pardon  !  It  will  do 
nothing.  It  embitters  the  people — that  is  all.  We  must  retrench 
these  expenses  in  armies  and  uniforms,  and  police.  There  is  enough 
spent  there  to  pay  half  the  interest." 

"  Ach ! "  said  the  other,  shrugging  his  shoulders,  "  that  is 
quite  another  question.  You  know  soldiers  cannot  be  given  up 
here." 

"  Leider  !  Alas !  no !— but  fewer  of  them  !  Then  a  better  man- 
agement of  the  public  property.  I  agree  so  far  with  the  Lloyd,  in 
an  entirely  different  system  being  needed  by  our  Ministry.  And 
this  attempting  to  force  commerce — it's  absurd  ! 

"  There  would  be  no  difficulty,"  said  another  gentleman,  "  for  the 


408  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


Austrian  Government,  if  there  was  any  public  confidence  in  it.  These 
foreign  gentlemen  here,  know,  that  the  debt  of  England  is  incom- 
parably greater  than  Austria's,  even  in  comparison  with  her  resour- 
ces. Look  at  our  State  property — it  is  immense.  The  mines  of 
salt  and  iron  and  lead — our  public  forests— the  monopolies  of  our 
Government — the  State  domains  —  there  is  security  enough  for  the 
heaviest  funded  debt.  Give  us  quiet  and  peace  here  a  few  years, 
and  we  shall  have  credit.  That  is  all  we  want." 

"  You  will  find  this  the  subject  of  subjects  in  Vienna,"  whispered 
one  of  the  ladies  to  me,  "  especially  to  us  who  want  to  go  to  your 
Great  Exhibition  so  much.  A  pound  is  worth  now — how  much, 
Herr  S.  ?  You  know  !  " 

"  About  13-4  ;"  and  tome,  "usually,  9 florins  and  54  kreutzers." 

"  I  fear  I  shall  never  get  to  the  Exhibition,"  said  she,  with  a 
sigh  ;  "  but  they  are  going  to  the  drawing-room  again  ! " 

Coffee  was  brought  up — always  in  Vienna  with  iced  water — and 
I  had  a  long  conversation,  in  English,  with  the  Doctor  and  the 
Englishman.  They  were  both  confident  the  present  state  of  things 
would  not  hold  long  in  Austria.  Discontent,  they  said,  was  work- 
ing through  every  class,  except  the  nobility.  Tyranny  had  now 
reached  a  very  tender  part  with  the  Viennese — the  pocket.  "  They 
would  have  succeeded  in  '48,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  there  were  no 
competent  leaders.  They  fought  well." 

"  A  bad  lot,  all  of  them,"  said  the  Englishman  ;  "  though  the 
students  did  show  some  pluck." 

"  No  men  ever  fought  braver,"  said  the  Doctor  ;  "  but  it's  time  for 
the  band  in  the  Volksgarten — let's  be  off  for  a  walk.  '-Die  gnadige 
Frau  will  give  us  a  light  for  our  cigars." 

"Adieu!" 


ETIQUETTE.  407 


"  Untertbanigster  Diener  ! !" 
"Adieu!" 


APWL,  1861. 

I  am  much  amused  at  the  Viennese  strictness  in  matrimonial  mat- 
ters. A  friend  of  mine,  Mrs. ,  an  American  lady  residing 

in  Vienna,  was  lately  visited  by  a  young  German  friend  of  hers. 

"  Have  you  heard,  Mrs. ,"  said  the  young  lady,  "  of  the 

great  indiscretion   which  your  American  friend,  Mr.  S.,  has  been 
guilty  of  in  our  family  ? " 
No  ;  she  had  not. 

"  Well,  I  was  in  our  boudoir,  yesterday  morning,  and  I  heard  my 
sister  in  conversation  in  the  front  drawing-room  with  Mr.  S. ;  at 
length  her  tones  grew  so  loud  that  I  feared  something  was  the 
matter,  and  on  going  to  the  door,  I  could  see  through  the  rooms, 
that  my  sister  was  walking  up  and  down  in  her  riding-dress,  in  a 
terrible  excitement,  brandishing  her  little  whip  most  violently.  I 
rushed  into  the  room,  and  found  Mr.  S.  standing  on  one  side,  pale 
and  in  deep  emotion,  and  my  sister  with  a  letter  crushed  in  her 
hand.  '  Mein  Oott !  That  I  should  be  insulted  so  in  my  own 
house,  and  by  one  who  has  been  treated  so  kindly  ! '  she  was  saying. 
I  asked  what  it  wa?,  and  found  that  Mr.  S.  had  had  the  presump- 
tion to  write  a  letter  to  my  sister,  offering  his  hand,  and  had  handed 
the  letter  to  her  !  It  was  enclosed  to  my  mother,  indeed,  but  he 
had  sent  the  letter  to  her  !  We  had  never  expected  such  an  insult 
from  Mr.  S.,  and  certainly  we  had  given  him  no  pretext  for  it ! " 

Mrs. could  not  get  the  point  of  the  offence,  at  first,  but 

when  she  did,  she  burst  into  a  laugh,  and  told  her  indignant  friend, 
that  that  was  the  custom  in  America  ;  and,  indeed,  that  a  gentleman 


SOCIAL  LIFE  IN   GERMANY. 


seldom  even  informed  the  mother  at  all,  until  the  matter  was  settled. 

Mr. ,  too,  who  was  present,  told  her  that  *'  American  parents 

felt  abundantly  satisfied;  if  they  were  even  invited  to  the  wedding ! " 
The  lady  was  much  mollified  by  this,  and  would  inform  her  sister, 
who  would  be  glad  to  know  that  Mr.  S.  had  not  intended  to  offend 
her. 


A   WEDDING. 

A  friend  gives   me  the  following  account  of  a  wedding  lately  in 

Vienna  high  life,  of  the  daughter  of  Count ,  a  favorite  of  the 

Emperor.  "It  was  in  the  morning  at  the  house  of  the  pope's  Nun- 
cio, who  performed  the  ceremony.  We  found  the  rooms  filled  with 
princesses  of  all  high  names,  Metternichs,  Esterhazys,  Lichtensteins, 
&c.,  in  full  dresses  and  diamonds,  all  in  bonnets,  except  the  troops 
of  bridesmaids.  The  groom  was  an  elegant  young  Hungarian  no- 
bleman, in  his  national  costume.  It  was  of  a  rich  blue  silk,  close- 
breasted,  tight-fitting  short  coat,  slashed  with  gold  cords  across  the 
breast ;  tight  blue  silk  breeches,  joining  at  the  knee  the  high,  snug, 
polished,  and  spurred  boots.  From  his  shoulders,  fell  back  the  short 
national  cloak  of  heavy  blue  watered  silk,  lined  with  white.  It  is 
only  the  form  of  the  dress  that  is  characteristic,  the  color  is  at  the 
choice  of  the  wearer ;  and  the  bright  Mazarine  blue  with  white  lin- 
ing and  gold  trimmings,  was  very  becoming  to  the  dark,  brilliant,  ori- 
ental beauty  of  the  young  count.  Other  Hungarians  were  there, 
with  deep-colored  velvets,  trimmed  with  fur.  The  dress  of  the  ladies 
is  not  peculiar,  except  of  those  who  are  of  Hungarian  blood  ;  theirs 
is  of  deep  black ;  but  they  are  not  often  found  at  Court,  unless  to 
beg  the  life  or  liberty  of  some  of  the  thousands  still  lying  in  Hun- 
garian prisons. 


A    WEDDING.  409 

"  The  groom  was  in  the  room  all  the  time.  Presently  came  in  the 
bride,  with  her  mother  and  one  or  two  lady-friends.  She  went  up 
to  her  father,  kissed  him,  then  kissed  her  step-mqther,  and  then  the 
father  and  mother  of  her  husband,  and'  afterwards  passed  about  the 
room,  kissing  her  intimate  friends.  They  always  kiss  both  cheeks  ; 
first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other.  The  bride  was  very  pretty, 
and  dressed  like  all  other  brides. 

"  After  she  came,  the  whole  party  crowded  into  the  little  private 
chapel  of  the  Nuncio.  The  service  was  in  French,  and  very  much 
like  that  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  except  that  there  were  more  cer- 
emonies. It  was  finished  by  administering  the  communion  to  the 
bridal  pair." 

18 


CHAPTEE  XLL 

AN    EXCURSION AN    ARISTOCRATIC    PARTY. 

AFBIL— . 

As  I  awoke  up  this  morning,  the  first  object  which  caught  my 
eye  was  a  flowing  beard,  a  placid  countenance,,  turbaned  head,  and 
long  smoking  pipe,  in  the  window  opposite. 

I  could  see  nothing  else,  where  I  lay,  and  for  some  time,  in  my 
half-dreamy  state,  I  puzzled  myself  with  wondering  how  I  had  at 
length  reached  Turkey,  the  country  I  had  so  longed  to  see,  and  how 
I  intended  leaving  it,  and  what  strange  land  was  next  before  me, 
when  a  rap  with  "  1st  der  Herr  schon  auf?  (Is  the  gentleman 
up  ?)  roused  me  to  realities,  and  I  remembered  I  was  in  Vienna, 
where  Turks  are  plentiful  enough. 

The  summons  proved  to  be  from  a  servant  of  my  friend,  the 
"  Doctor,"  with  an  invitation  to  a  country  excursion  to-day.  I  ac- 
cepted it,  and  in  a  short  time  was  breakfasting  with  him  at  Daum's 
(a  celebrated  coffee-house,)  the  breakfast  consisting  of  two  small 
kipfel,  or  bread-cakes  to  each,  the  whitest  and  best  bread  in  Europe, 
crumbled  into  a  tumbler  of  rich  coffee.  *« 

We  were  intending  to  go  to  the  valley  of  Briel — and  accordingly 
walked  towards  the  city  gates  to  the  rail-road  station  without  the 


PLAN    OF    VIENNA.  411 


walls.  VIENNA  has  been  very  well  compared  in  its  plan,  to  a  spi- 
der's web.  The  den — the  centre  of  all — the  object  by  which  the 
stranger  everywhere  guides  himself  through  the  mazes  of  the  city, 
and  the  last  which  he  sees  at  a  distance  in  leaving  it,  is  the  Cathe- 
dral of  St.  Stephen,  with  its  lofty  and  graceful  spire.  From  this 
radiate  all  the  streets  of  the  "  old  city,"  until  they  are  cut  off  by 
the  ancient  walls,  turned  now  into  agreeable  promenades.  This, 
though  it  embraces  the  most  mouldy,  interesting,  and  aristocratic 
part  of  the  city,  is  only  a  small  portion  of  Vienna.  Beyond  it,  ra- 
diate out  again  the  streets  of  the  "  Suburbs,"  mostly  fine  broad 
avenues,  lined  with  handsome  stuccoed  houses,  and  only  changing 
near  the  outskirts  into  the  narrow  dirty  lanes  of  ordinary  European 
cities.  There  are  innumerable  public  gardens  and  parks  all  around 
and  within  the  city,  and  the  broad  promenades  of  the  Bastions  en- 
circling it,  so  that  the  whole  has  a  very  attractive  appearance.  But 
the  glory  and  beauty  of  Vienna,  in  which  it  is  equalled  by  no  city 
of  Europe,  is  in  its  surroundings — its  environs. 

Those  jagged  hills  on  one  side,  with  their  green  quiet  valleys,  and 
monasteries,  and  castles  perched  along  the  summits,  the  rich  plains 
at  their  base,  the  broad  silvery  stream  of  the  Danube  on  the  other, 
and  the  blue  massive  summits  of  the  Styrian  Alps  in  the  distance, 
with  the  cheerful  gardens,  the  walks,  the  towers  of  the  city  in  the 
centre — such  a  scene  of  picturesque  beauty  is  not  in  my  memory. 

My  friend  and  I  walked  hurriedly,  as  every  one  does  in  Vienna, 
dodging  the  rapid  vehicles,  for  which  the  pedestrian  must  keep  the 
mo?t  constant  look-out,  as  the  streets  are  very  narrow  and  have  no 
sidewalks,  until  we  came  to  the  gate.  This  is  a  heavy  arch  under 
the  Bastions,  guarded  by  sentinels,  with  cannon  above  raking  the 
street,  a  token  of  the  martial  law  which  still  rules  the  city.  As  we 
came  out  on  the  broad  glacis  beyond,  we  stopped  a  moment  with 


412  SOCIAL    LIFE    IX    GERMANY 


the  crowd  to  look  at  a  handsome  light  carriage,  sweeping  on  rapidly 
towards  us.  Hats  in  the  air  !  yes  ;  it  is — the  Emperor  No  out- 
riders, or  carnages,  or  attendants,  and  he  himself  driving  four  in 
hand,  like  a  Jehu  !  Not  bad ! — and' I  feel  inclined  for  the  first  time 
to  touch  my  hat  to  the  young  Nero — but  do  not. 

"Do  you' see  that  large  brick  building,"  said  the  Doctor,  in  Eng- 
lish, after  we  had  walked  some  ways,  "  with  a  clean  sweep  all  around 
it — nothing  which  can  command  it  any  where  ?  That  is  the  new 
Arsenal,  built  so  that  we  cannot  get  arms  as  easily  for  another  fight. 
Ah  !  such  a  beautiful  little  rifle,  as  I  found  that  night  in  the  old 
one !  They  say  all  the  muskets  of  the  Hungarian  nation  are  in 
this.  It  would  be  devilish  hard  to  storm  ! " 

I  took  on  myself  the  buying  the  tickets — as  the  Doctor  was  busy 
with  some  ladies — and  bought  first-class  tickets  for  Modling,  where 
we  were  going.  The  Doctor  laughed,  and  said  he  always  took  the 
second  or  third  class.  There  were  a  frank,  jovial  set1  of  gentle- 
men  in  this  —  some  Hungarians,  and  Austrian  country  landlords. 
They  passed  cigars  to  us,  and  after  a  little  while,  one  of  them  in  a 
very  good-natured,  free  and  easy  way,  begged  to  know  what  coun- 
try I  was  from  ?  "  He  saw  from  my  dress  I  was  foreign."  I  told 
him  to  guess.  He  said  from  my  accent,  he  should  judge  me  to  be 
from  North  Germany — Holstein,  perhaps  ?  "  No."  "  Well,  Den- 
mark ? "  "  No."  Sweden,  and  then  Russia,  and  finally  back  again 
to  Meklenburg  and  Bavaria,  and  at  last  to  England.  Baffled  in  all 
this,  he  gave  it  up.  "  Where  the  d — 1  are  you  from,  then  ? " 

I  answered  vaguely,  and  did  not  gratify  his  curiosity  till  at  the 
close  of  the  ride, 

"  Ach  Himmel !  America !     Who  would  have  thought  of  that  ?" 

Did  any  English  traveller  ever  meet  anything  more  completely 
Yankee,  in  a  back  wood  American  village  ? 


A    WALK.  413 


Modling  is  about  nine  miles  from  the  city,  full  of  beer-houses  and 
restaurantes  for  the  Viennese,  who  crowd  the  village  on  Sundays. 
We  struck  across  into  the  range  of  hills,  and  after  some  hard  climb- 
ing, were  on  the  summit,  with  the  wide  view  of  the  valley  of  the 
Danube  beneath  us.  We  lay  a"  long  time  on  the  grass,  enjoying 
the  beautiful  scene ;  my  friend  showed  me  the  course  of  his  "  ride" 
in  '48  ;  and  pointed  out  the  various  objects  of  old  historical  interest. 
There  the  green  trees  and  occasional  church-spires  of  Aspern,  the 
scene  of  Napoleon's  great  battle ;  there  again  the  heights  of  Wag- 
ram  ;  here,  below,  the  palace  of  Schonbrunn,  with  mathematically 
laid  gardens,  where  "  Napoleon  II "  died ;  and  near  us,  along  the 
hills,  the  picturesque  ruins  of  feudal  castles,  yet  showing  the 
ravages  of  the  Turks.  We  stopped  in  our  ramble  at  various  coun- 
try-seats, with  whose  owners  my  friend  was  acquainted.  These  were 
not  generally  as  tasteful  as  the  other  surroundings  of  Vienna  might 
lead  one  to  expect ;  there  was  something  bare,  unsheltered,  incom- 
modious about  them.  The  people  have  the  usual  lively,  cheerful, 
urbane  appearance  of  the  Viennese.  The  valley  of  the  Briel  is  the 
property  of  Prince  Lichtenstein,  and  contains  one  of  his  modern 
castles,  with  some  interesting  ruined  castles,  and  some  artificial 
ruins.  A  quiet,  sheltered,  peaceful  green  valley,  with  pretty  per- 
spectives, and  excellent  inns  for  pleasure  parties.  Our  appetites 
were  well  sharpened,  when  we  reached  one  of  the  best  of  these — 
the  Weisse  Kreutz,  I  believe.  We  found  a  pleasant  little  table  un- 
der a  vine-covered  arbor  in  the  garden,  and  ordered  a  good  quantity 
of  the  famous  Vienna  dishes.  The  Doctor  laughed  when  I  asked 
the  waiter  for  a  place  to  wash. 

"  I  have  not  heard  that  since  I  was  in  England  !"  said  he.  "  Das 
thut  man  nie  hier  !"  (We  never  do  that  here  !) 

"  Good  !"  said  he,  as  the  6rst  course  came  on  ;  "  Brod  suppe  mit 


414  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


Ey  !  (Bread  soup  and  eggs !)  that  is  right ! "  "  Now  Kellner  !  the 
gebackenes  Huhn  quick,  and  Fogasch — and  your  best  Mekl-speise 
(pudding) — the  gute  Frau  knows  what  I  like!  Tell  her  not  to 
make  the  black  coffee  very  strong' 

The  Huhn  is  chicken  fried  in  lard ;  Fogasch  is  a  perch,  much 
prized  here. 

The  waiter  brought  in  each  dish,  hot,  as  a  separate  course  ;  and 
at  length,  when  we  had  finished  them,  handed  us  our  coffee,  with 
"  A  good  digestion  !  raeine  Herrn  ! " — a  German  salutation,  espe- 
cially appropriate  after  some  of  their  meals. 

In  one  corner  of  the  garden,  there  were  a  number  of  workmen, 
rolling  nine-pins,  and  we  crossed  over  to  look  at  them.  The  alleys 
•were  mere  hard-beaten  earthen  tracks.  The  pins  and  balls  were 
only  about  half  the  size  of  those  in  ordinary  use  with  us.  They 
played  for  monoy,  and  were  drinking  beer  from  large  mugs,  contin- 
ually. A  more  degraded,  lifeless,  heavy-faced  set  of  laboring  men 
I  scarcely  ever  saw,  even  in  the  worst  agricultural  shires  of  England. 

"  Now  do  you  hope,  Doctor,  ever  to  raise  up  such  creatures  as 
these,  into  men  for  a  free  government  ? "  said  I. 

"  We  shall  come  to  it  gradually,"  he  answered.  "  Educate  them  ! 
that  is  the  first  thing.  But  you  must  romember,  these  are  not  the 
men  who  want  a  Revolution.  All  they  care  for  is  their  beer  and 
time  for  a  Kegelspiel  like  this,  occasionally.  The  most  discontented 
class  now  in  Austria  is  the  middle  class — there  is  where  the  out- 
break will  begin.  The  mechanics  and  shopkeepers,  and  higher,  the 
studying  men — they  understand  Liberty,  and  they,  are  galled  by 
these  restrictions." 

"  The  merchants  and  nobles,  then,  will  stand  by  the  govern- 
ment?" 

"  Yes — es  versteht  sick — of  course !     They  can  only  lose  by  an 


NINE-PINS.  413 


overturning — though  we  may  become  so  completely  bankrupt,  that 
even  the  merchants  would  be  glad  of  any  change.  But  see  that  fel- 
low drink ! — he  has  taken  three  quart  mugs  while  we  have  been 
standing  here ! " 

I  told  him  it  sickened  me  to  see  such  a  set  of  men  as  these.  It 
was  discouraging.  "  When  I  am  with  the  better  classes,"  said  I,  "  I 
can  see  that  they  are  superior  in  many  things,  to  ours,  and  where 
they  are  not,  they  can  improve  themselves.  But  these  brutes,  will 
they  ever  be  men  ?  It  is  such  a  contrast  to  our  laborers." 

"  Yes,  it  must  be,"  he  replied.  "  These  fellows  have  no  hope. 
Their  place  in  life  seems  to  them  just  as  fixed  as  one  of  the  laws  of 
nature.  It  never  enters  their  heads  that  they  or  their  children  can 
be  any  better.  Aeh  Gott  f  is  the  Old  World  wearing  out  ? — But  it 
is  time  to  be  getting  down  the  hill.  Kellner  !  bring  the  bill  ! " 

A  pleasant  walk  down  the  hill  brought  us  to  Modling,  and  we 
were  in  Vienna  again,  at  a  seasonable  hour. 


I  was  invited  in  the  evening  to  the  house  of  a  gentleman,  who 
had  been  quite  polite  to  me,  though  he  himself  belonged  to  the 
ultra  aristocratic  party  in  Austria,  and  even  to  the  extreme  Jesuit 
side.  I  always  expected  to  meet  at  his  house,  the  most  thorough 
conservatives  of  Austrian  conservative  society. 

A  servant  in  livery  admitted  me,  and  another  conducted  me  to 
the  drawing-room  and  announced  my  name. 

It  is  singular,  in  the  best  houses  of  Vienna,  you  never  find  an 
ante-room.  Even  if  a  lady  is  going  to  a  ball,  there  is  no  private 
room  or  glass.  The  servant  merely  assists  the  visitor  in  the  hall. 

There  were  only  a  few  present  here,  this  evening,  sitting  around 
easily,  in  different  parts  of  the  room,  chatting  with  one  another — 


416  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


the  lady  on  a  lounge  in  one  corner,  before  a  small  table,  making 
tea,  with  two  or  three  gentlemen  talking  in  a  lively  way  in  French 
with  her.  The  language  used  by  the  company  seemed  to  be  French) 
generally,  though  I  heard  English  words. 

I  fell  in  at  once  with  a  stout  elderly  gentleman,  who  spoke  Eng- 
lish, and  who,  I  believe,  was  a  merchant  or  banker.  We  spoke  of 
the  universal  subject,  Austrian  finances  and  debt.  "Very  much 
exaggerated,  sir,"  said  he,  "  very  much.  We  have  public  property 
enough  to  meet  double  the  amount.  There  will  be  no  difficulty. 
A  loan  must  be  taken  up,  and  heavier  taxes  laid.  This  proletairiat 
have  cost  us  something,  and  they  should  pay  the  debt." 

"  But  do  you  not  fear  to  make  the  people  discontented  ? "  I 
asked. 

"  No.  All  the  order-loving  citizens  will  stand  by  the  law.  They 
see  it  is  a  question  of  life  and  death  for  us.  We  are  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  sustaining  a  heavy  taxation,  in  order  to  preserve  the 
credit  of  our  State." 

I  told  him  most  of  the  impressions  abroad  about  the  Austrian 
moneyed  difficulties  were  derived  from  the  correspondent  of  The 
Times. 

"  I  know   it,"  said  he.     "  I  know  the  man  well,  Mr. ;  he 

has  been  here  a  long  while,  and  he  did  us  good  service  in  '48 ;  and 
he  was  even  favorably  noticed  at  court.  The  Times  was  on  very 
good  relations  with  us  then.  One  of  the  proprietors  came  on  and 
held  a  long  interview  with  Prince  Schwarzenberg,  and  got  a  very 
good  understanding  of  that  Hungarian  matter.  Since  then,  this 

Mr. ,  has  taken  offence  at  something,  and  gives  very  incorrect 

advices  on  our  financial  condition." 

"  You  do  not  credit  these  stories,"  I  inquired,  "  about  The 
Times  being  paid  by  the  Austrian  Government  ?" 


A  PROTECTIONIST.  417 


"  Oh !  earlier  information  may  have  sometimes  been  furnished 
it,  nothing  more.  Our  Imperial  Government  has  not  conde- 
scended yet — God  be  thanked  ! — to  hire  such  tools ! " 

He  went  on  to  speak  with  a  bitterness,  singular  in  a  staid,  old 
commercial  man,  about  England,  and  the  attempts  of  the  English 
to  interfere  in  continental  matters. 

"  The  truth  is,"  said  he,  "  the  English  give  us  more  trouble  in  Eu- 
rope than  any  other  people.  If  it  was  not  for  their  own  pockets,  they 
would  have  had  all  the  Continent  in  a  blaze  long  ago.  You  Ame- 
ricans seem  to  mind  your  own  affairs.  But  the  English !  Do  you 
know  that  Lord  Palmerston  has  done  more  to  disturb  the  order  of 
Europe,  than  any  Revolutionist ! " 

I  made  some  inquiry  in  regard  to  their  future  policy  on  the  Tariff 
question. 

"A  difficult  matter,  sir.  I  have  been  in  England,  and  I  have  studied 
their  commercial  policy ;  yours,  I  know,  is  very  different.  I  must 
say,  I  like  it  better.  We  want  here  to  push  up  Austrian  manufac- 
tures. We  do  not  like  to  be  overflooded  with  English  goods  and 
English  iron,  when  we  can  make  them  ourselves.  There  are  im- 
mense resources  in  the  empire,  which  have  never  been  developed.  I 
wish  these  English  could  be  driven  out  of  every  market  in  the  civil- 
ized world.  Our  tendency  is  to  high  tariffs  now,  but  it  may  not 

last." 

"  Always  on  the  money  question,  Herr  Von  T ,"  said  our 

host,  coming  up ;  "  excuse !  let  me  present  you,  Herr  B.,  to  a  lady, 
who  much  likes  the  Americans ! " 

A  very  pleasant,  intelligent  lady  I  found,  and  I  had  a  long  talk 
with  her  on  America,  and  our  cities  and  ladies,  &c.  I  soon  dis- 
covered that  she  was  more  liberal  in  opinion,  than  I  had  expected 
to  find  any  one  in  the  room.  In  speaking  of  Vienna,  I  told  her 
18* 


418  SOCIAL  LIFE   IN  GERMANY. 


how  much  impressed  I  had  been  by  the  Roman  Catholic  services 
in  the  Cathedral — how  solemn  they  were. 

"  So !  You  were  there  !  Yes,  they  were  good  ;  but,  I  must  con- 
fess, they  tire  me.  The  best  part  is  the  lighting  up  the  dark 
churches  at  the  moment  of  the  Resurrection.  Did  you  see  that? " 

I  asked  her  soon  whether  the  priests  came  much  into  general 
society.  "  Ach  !  no.  Only  the  Jesuits.  You  see  there  is  one,  that 
smooth,  nice-looking  Abbe  in  the  corner.  He  is  talking  French 

with  Madame .  How  bland  !  I  never  like  to  meet  him.  They 

say  he  is  a  secret  agent  of  Government." 

"  Our  friends  here,"  said  she  again,  "  are  of  the  ultra-montane 
(Jesuit)  party,  which  many  of  us  Catholics  you  know  dislike  almost 
as  much  as  you  Protestants." 

I  inquired  in  the  conversation,  what  the  feeling  was  towards  the 
Emperor  among  the  higher  classes. 

"  We  do  not  know  what  he  may  be  when  older,"  said  she.  "  But 
T  cannot  understand,  how  so  young  a  man  could  refuse  so  long  any 
act  of  mercy  towards  those  poor  misguided  Hungarians.  We  have 
hopes  though.  Persons  in  the  court  say,  he  is  much  controlled  by 
others  ;  and  that  his  great  ambition  is  to  be  a  General.  I  do  not 

know,  however.  But  Madame is  serving  tea ;  let  us  draw 

nearer  the  table." 

A  haughty,  brilliant-looking  lady  was  speaking  with  much  ani- 
mation, as  we  came  into  the  circle,  sometimes  in  English  and  some- 
times in  German — each  language  so  perfectly,  that  I  could  not  tell 
which  was  native  to  her.  She  was  talking  of  the  Hungarian  Revo- 
lution ;  after  a  little  while  she  turned  to  me. 

"  We  think  it  strange,  sir,  that  there  is  so  little  information  in 
foreign  countries  about  this  infamous  rebellion  !  The  English  lite- 
rally know  nothing  about  it.  Your  countrymen  seem  much  more 


AN    ARISTOCRAT.  419 


enlightened,  but  you  will  pardon  me,  if  I  say,  that  they  are  not 
always  unprejudiced." 

I  answered,  that  it  was  unfortunate  the  Austrian  party  had  not 
issued  more  documents  on  the  subject.  All  the  brochures  and  his- 
tories appeared  to  take  the  opposing  view. 

"  Yes,"  she  replied.  "  It  was  an  error.  We  were  so  confident 
of  our  cause,  that  we  had  not  thought  it  necessary.  And  Gott  sei 
Dank!  the  Austrian  Empire,  does  not  yet  depend  on  success  in 
pamphlet  warfare  ! " 

"But,"  said  a  gentleman,  "  we  have  documents;  and  if  the  mon- 
sieur is  interested  in  the  matter,  I  shall  be  pleased  to  furnish  them 
to  him." 

I  inquired  what  he  had.  He  mentioned  two  histories  of  the  war 
by  Austrian  savants,  and  some  pamphlets.  "  And  beside,"  he 
added,  "  what  I  had  forgotten — the  articles  of  your  countryman, 
Monsieur  BOWEN,  if  you  have  not  read  them,  in  the  Nord  Ameri- 
canischer  Revue  !  " 

I  thanked  him,  and  promised  to  call  for  them. 

"  Your  countrymen  are  strangely  mistaken  in  Kossuth,"  said  the 
lady  again.  "  I  was  in  Hungary  in  the  war,  with  my  husband, 
General ,  and  I  know  him.  He  is  a  low-born  radical  !  " 

The  rest  joined  in  with  expressions,  uttered  with  a  fervor  which 
amused  me.  "  Red-republican  !  "  "  vulgar  agitator  !  "  "a  mere 
demagogue — strange  that  foreign  nations  should  take  such  an  inte- 
rest in  him ! " 

"  Nothing  would  please  me  so  much,"  said  the  lady  of  the  Gen- 
eral again,  in  excited  tones,  "  as  to  see  KossutWs  head  /" 

I  looked  up  in  surprise  at  such  a  wish ;  and  inquired  more  par- 
ticularly for  his  errors  or  vices,  but  did  not  gather  them,  except 
that  he  was  a  kind  of  a  Robespierre,  who  desired  nothing  better 


420  SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


than  anarchy  or  revolution  ;  and  who  used  a  certain  windy  popular 
eloquence  to  effect  his  objects  with  the  crowd.  With  regard  to 
Mr.  BOWEN,  I  was  asked, 

"  Is  it  true  that  he  has  been  obliged  to  resign  a  professorship  in 
one  of  your  universities,  on  account  of  his  views  upon  the  Hunga- 
rian question  ? " 

I  answered,  that  I  had  heard  the  report  through  the  papers;  or, 
at  least,  that  he  was  rejected  as  a  candidate. 

"  Pray !  why  is  not  that  tyranny  ? "  said  the  gentleman,  "  as 
much  as  anything  complained  of  here  ? " 

I  did  not  know  the  facts,  I  replied.  I  suppose  the  univer- 
sity authorities  did  not  object  to  Mr.  Bowen's  holding  what 
opinions  he  chose,  but  they  thought  those  opinions  indicated  a  tone 
of  mind,  which  would  unfit  him  to  teach  American  youth. 

"  But  we  thought,  my  dear  sir,  you  boasted  for  your  land  that  it 
was  the  very  place  for  free  expression  of  opinion.    If  it  is,  why  should 
monarchical  views  on  historical  subjects  injure   the  young  men 
Why  would  it  not  do  them  good  to  hear  the  other  side  ? " 

I  admitted,  if  the  facts  were  as  they  stated  them,  I  should  not 
consider  Mr.  Bowen's  rejection,  justifiable. 

"  You  must  confess,  Mr.  B.,"  said  our  host,  "  there  is  a  power  in 
your  country,  quite  as  tyrannical  and  troublesome  as  the  European 
police-system.  I  mean  public  opinion.  People  say,  you  dare 
not  move  a  step  against  it." 

I  admitted  its  power  ;  "  but  the  free  and  independent  could  face 
it,  and  have  faced  it.  Besides,  it  comes  from  ourselves." 

"  Pardon  !  my  dear  sir,  I  was  in  England  at  the  time"  of  some  of 
your  slavery  riots.  I  know  how  men  are  treated,  who  oppose  it 
For  my  part,  I  would  rather  be  under  one  tyrant  than  twenty  mil- 


VIEWS    OF    AMERICA.  421 


lion  ;  though  Gott  bewahr  !  (God  forbid !)  that  I  should  imply,  we 
were  under  a  tyrant ! " 

I  answered  that  this  tyranny  was  not  as  great  as  they  supposed. 
Our  most  popular  journals  are  the  most  independent. 

"  We  see  many  of  your  papers  here,"  said  the  banker,  "  and  you 
will  pardon  us,  if  we  say  that  their  tone  seems  most  faulty — I 
should  certainly  hope  our  Austrian  press  would  never  wish  such 
freedom." 

"  You  must  admit,  Mr.  B."  said  our  host,  "  that  there  is  a  person- 
ality, and  low  abuse  of  a  private  man's  character  in  your  newspaper 
writing,  which  is  not  worthy  of  your  country.  It  looks  like  the 
worst  kind  of  subjection — the  subjection  to  a  vicious  public  opinion. 
Excuse  our  frankness,  but  so  it  seems  to  us !" 

"  Then  the  rioting  and  the  bloody  crimes,  we  hear  of !"  said  the 
lady  who  had  before  spoken.  "We  admit  your  country  is  power- 
ful, and  is  going  on  to  a  wonderful  influence, — but  these  things ! 
Are  they  not  horrible  !" 

I  admitted  something  of  the  truth  of  what  they  said,  and  as 
calmly  as  possible,  stated  at  length,  the  causes.  That  our  State  was 
yet  only  some  seventy-five  years  old — and,  of  course,  there  would 
be  much  which  was  wild  and  uncultivated,  and  even  ungoverned  in 
parts  of  it.  But  these  stories,  which  I  saw  in  the  German  press, 
were  much  exaggerated.  Crime,  and  lawlessness,  and  rioting,  in  all 
the  old  States  of  our  Union,  were  as  rare,  as  in  the  best  governed 
countries  of  Europe.  I  appealed  to  the  value  of  private  and  pub- 
lic property  with  us,  as  an  evidence.  I  spoke  of  the  most  striking 
fact,  that  with  the  exception  of  Russia,  ours  was  the  only  civilized 
government,  which  was  undisturbed  in  the  convulsions  of  1848. 
This  personality  of  the  press  was  an  evil — perhaps  a  necessary 
evil — yet  it  was  much  worse  in  appearance,  than  reality.  Nobody 


SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GERMANY. 


cared  much  for  it.  I  described  too,  the  general  intelligence  and 
happy  condition  of  all  classes.  "  Possibly  we  may  fail,  yet,"  said  I ; 
"  there  are  many  dangers  before  us.  Still  our  success  thus  far  has 
been  beyond  all  expectation,  and  these  evils  are  slight  to  the  bless- 
ings." 

They  were  softened  by  my  admissions,  and  allowed  in  return, 
gloomily  enough,  the  old,  long-fastened  defects  and  evils  of  their 
own  society.  "  Yes,  yes.  Die  Zukunft  ist  fur  Sie  !  The  Future  is 
with  you  /" 

In  taking  leave,  the  lady  who  "  wanted  Kossuth's  head,"  asked 
me  very  politely  to  call  upon  her  husband,  Gen. ,  and  the  con- 
servative banker  recommended  himself  am  freundlichsten,  most 
cordially,  and  my  host  could  not  repeat  enough  "  Unterthiinigster 
Diener  /"  I  returned  to  my  lodgings  to  make  preparations  for  my 
approaching  departure  for  Hungary. 


"  THE  FUTURE  is  WITH  YOU  !" — how  often  have  I  heard  it  in 
Germany  !  What  a  sad  story  does  it  tell  for  the  poor  old  World  ! 
It  speaks  of  a  Past,  sown  with  injustices  and  wrongs,  and  contempt 
of  human  rights,  and  disdain  of  the  hopes  and  the  sufferings  of  mul- 
titudes of  men,  ripening  fast  into  a  Present  of  degradation,  anarchy, 
and  fierce,  defying  passions. 

It  tells  the  same  old  sad  story  of  human  Tyranny,  and  its  curses 
and  ills  sent  on  to  distant  times ;  of  Injustice  heaped  up  year  after 
year,  till  man  can  no  longer  bear ;  of  the  evil  deeds  of  one  age 
laying  up  retribution  terrible  for  another.  The  Present  so  poisoned, 
that  even  the  Future  hath  no  hope  ! 

Poor  Europe !    I  have  seen  thy  sufferings  and  experienced  some- 


THE   FUTURE  423 


thing  of  the  despotism  which  has  crushed  thee  ;  and  here,  at  home 
again,  in  a  land,  uncursed  by  the  vices  and  wrongs  of  the  Past, 
with  a  youth  opening  before  it,  glorious  and  beautiful  —  save  one 
shadow,  which  HE  shall  surely  remove  —  as  that  pictured  by  the  old 
Greek  dreamers  for  their  "  Ideal  State,"  I  can  pray  from  the  heart, 
"  A  better  Future  for  thee  !" 

May  it  no  longer  be,  ';  The  Future  is  with  America  P  but  "  THB 
FUTURE  is  WITH  HUMANITY  P 


APPENDIX. 

THE    GERMAN    TARIFF    UNIONS.* 

No.  I. — THE  ZOLLVEREIN. 

THE  most  important  financial  question  which  has  ever  agitated  Cen- 
tral Europe,  that  of  the  German  Tariff  Unions,  is  scarcely  known  in  our 
country,  except  by  name.  I  propose,  in  as  brief  a  manner  as  possible, 
to  make  the  matter  clearer  to  American  readers,  by  presenting  facts. 

Every  one  of  the  thirty-four  States  of  Germany,  had,  until  1818,  con- 
sidered it  the  first  condition  of  its  existence,  to  separate  itself  from 
every  other  State,  by  heavy  protective  duties.  Even  different  provinces 
of  the  same  kingdom,  were  barred  by  Tariffs.  Every  city  had  its  Cus- 
tom-houses ;  and  the  rivers  seemed  lines  intended  by  nature  for  collect- 
ing revenue  duties.  The  celebrated  Vienna  Congress,  which  met  in 
1815  to  give  unity  and  freedom  to  Germany,  devoted  one  article  of  the 
Constitution,  then  drawn  up,  to  this  difficulty. 

They  premise  (Art.  XIX,)  "  at  the  first  assembly  of  the  League  in 

*  For  the  sources  of  tlies  statistics,  I  refer  to  the  following  :  1.  "  Buhner's  Jahrbnch 
fur  Volks  wirthschftft,  &c.,  1852."  2.  "  Vergleichende  Zusamri:enstellung  der  Oren*- 
Eingangs — Abgaben  in  Oesterreich,  <fec.,  von  Reden,  1843."  81  "  Fur  und  wioder  Schus 
zolle,  1848."  4.  "  Die  Seg  nungen  des  Zollveroins.  1852."  C.  "Statistiche  Uebersicht,  Ao, 
von  JKotelmann,  1852."  6.  "  Die  Krisis  des  Zollvereins,  Ac.,  von  Dr.  Rau,  1852."  T.  "  Der 
September  vortr.ig,  &c.,  in  Hanover,  1852."  8.  "Zur  bandels  polltischen  Frage,  1852." 
9.  "Dleterici's  Statistische  Uebersicht,  1818-1848."  10.  "Die  Zollconferenx  zu  Wl«n, 
1852."  11.  "  Die  Zoll  oonfercnz  zu  Berlin." 


426  APPENDIX. 


Frankfort,  to  take  into  consideration,  the  question  of  commerce  and 
traffic  between  the  different  States  of  the  League." 

This,  like  all  the  efforts  of  that  body  for  the  good  of  Germany,  ended 
in  words.  At  length,  in  1818,  Prussia  passed  a  law  removing  all  duties 
between  its  various  provinces  ;  promising  only  such  protection  to  ex- 
ports as  would  secure  home  industry  and  provide  a  revenue  for  the 
State,  without  burdening  trade.  Any  foreign  country  granting  privi- 
leges of  commerce  to  the  Prussian  subjects,  should  be  met  with  an  equal 
return.  The  duties  on  foreign  manufactures  should  never  exceed  ten 
per  cent,  of  their  value  ;  and  this  "  Freedom  of  Trade  "  should  be  the 
basis  of  future  legislation. 

The  effect  of  the  System,  thus  established,  was  so  favorable  to  Prussia, 
that  in  1828,  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Hesse,  and  in  1831,  the  Princedom 
of  Hesse,  united  with  her  in  a  Commercial  Union.  During  the  same 
years,  a  Union  was  formed  (1828)  between  Bavaria  and  Wiirtemberg, 
and  (1833)  a  Union,  called  the  Thuringian,  between  some  of  the  smaller 
States.  All  these  associations  were  thus  far  on  the  basis  of  low  duties, 
while  Austria  and  other  States  held  to  the  high  protective  system. 

The  Prussian  Union  soon  surpassed  all  its  rivals.  It  was  found  to 
offer  a  securer  and  larger  market  to  those  who  would  join  it,  than  any 
other  single  League.  Its  scale  of  duties  appeared  judiciously  contrived, 
so  as  to  stimulate  industry.  It  commanded  all  the  outlets  to  the  North 
Sea  —  and  the  privileges  held  out  to  the  other  provinces,  were  remark- 
ably favorable. 

In  1833,  both  of  the  last  mentioned  unions  were  merged  into  the 
Prussian,  and  the  Treaty  was  formed,  which  is  at  the  basis  of  the  pre- 
sent German  Tariff-Union,  or  Zollverein. 

According  to  this  treaty,  there  shall  be  a  common  system  of  trade 
and  revenue  between  the  States  of  the  Union.  All  native  productions 
shall  pass  the  line  of  each,  free  of  duty,  with  the  exception  of  (1)  certain 
articles,  liable  to  a  home-tax  ;  (2)  those  competing  with  objects  already 
patented,  in  other  States  ;  or  (3)  two  monopolies  specified  —  salt  and 
playing  cards.  Foreign  imports  pass  without  duty.  On  all  exports  and 


APPENDIX.  427 


imports,  a  similar  tariff  is  laid  throughout  the  Union  ;  and  the  revenue 
everywhere  from  these  sources,  is  divided  among  the  different  States, 
according  to  their  population.  A  meeting  of  the  deputies  from  the 
Union  shall  be  held  annually,  and  the  present  treaty  shall  be  binding 
till  1842.  If  no  announcement  is  made  at  least  two  years  before  this 
period,  it  shall  be  extended  for  twelve  years  more. 

This  engagement,  however,  shall  be  considered  to  be  dissolved,  if,  in 
the  mean  time,  the  united  German  States,  according  to  Art.  XIX,  form 
a  commercial  league,  which  shall  fulfill  all  the  objects  of  the  present 
Union. 

To  this  treaty  various  additions  were  made  at  the  entry  of  Saxony, 
Brunswick,  Lippe,  and  other  provinces.  In  1841,  it  was  formally  re- 
newed for  twelve  years,  till  1853,  and  various  needful  articles  annexed. 
All  these  changes  have  in  general  tended  to  promote  a  greater  freedom 
of  trade  between  the  several  provinces.  The  standards  for  weight  and 
measure  are  more  carefully  fixed ;  the  taxes  on  home  products  limited 
to  certain  definite  articles,  as  spirit  and  malt  liquor,  tobacco,  and  the 
like ;  and  the  internal  commerce  in  foreign  goods,  which  have  entered 
by  the  custom-houses  of  the  Union,  is  made  free  of  all  restraint.  A 
separate  provision  is  also  passed,  with  reference  to  the  tax  oil  beet- 
sugar  as  a  home  product,  and  to  protective  duties,  to  be  laid  on  foreign 
sugars  and  syrups. 

The  Union  formed  under  these  various  treaties,  embraced  in  1849, 
the  following  States  and  population  : 

Prussia 16,669,163       Hesse  (Princedom) 781,584 

Luxemberg    189,783       Hesse  (Grand  Duchy)   862,917 

Bavaria    4,526,650        Thuringian  Union 1,014,954 

Saxony 1,894,481       Brunswick 247,070 

Wnrtemberg 1,805,558       Nas*m  425,686 

Baden 1,860,599       Frankfort  (on  the  Maine) 71,678 


Total  population   29,800,068 

The  peaceful  continuance  of  this  Union  is  a  thing  quite  unexampled 


428  APPENDIX. 


in  Germany.  Scarce  any  one,  among  the  many  German  Unions,  for 
various  objects,  has  ever  lived  so  long  and  so  peacefully. 

The  high-sounding  principles,  however,  in  which  it  was  based,  have 
many  of  them  been  dropped.  Instead  of  the  Free  Trade,  to  which  the 
German  Tariff-Union  should  eventually  lead,  duties  have  been  laid  on 
some  articles,  almost  prohibitive.  The  privileges  granted  by  foreign 
countries  have  never  been  answered.  And  there  is  scarcely  a  foreign 
import,  the  duty  on  which  does  not  exceed  ten  per  cent.  Even  internal 
trade  is  much  impeded  by  the  duties  on  liquors,  tobacco  and  salt. 

Among  the  changes  in  the  Tariff  are  the  following  : 

Cotton  Web  (1343-5)  from  2  Th.  per  cwt.  to  3  Th.,  or  from  5  5-19  per  cent  up  to  about 
8  per  cent  duty. 

Cotton  Yarn  from  5  per  cent  up  to  about  81  per  cent  duty. 

Linen  Thread.— Duty  raised  from  1  Th.  (75  cents)  per  cwt  up  to  4  Th.  ($3).  Price 
per  cwt  60  Th.  (1847). 

Silk.— Duty  raised  from  6  Th.  to  8  Th.  per  cwt    Price  600  Th.  per  cwt 

Woollen  Goods.— From  30  Th.  to  50  Th.  per  cwt ,  or  from  a  duty  of  33$  per  cent  to  60 
per  cent 

I/ on.— Till  1844  pig-iron  was  free,  and  bar-iron  paid  1  Th.  per  cwt  Since  then,  pig-iron 
pays  i  Th.,  or  33J  per  cent ,  and  bar-iron  from  1$  Th.  to  2  Th. ;  that  is,  a  duty  of  50  to  66f 
per  cent 

Segars. — Duty  raised  from  11  Th.  to  15  Th. 

2Ano  Wares.— From  3f  Th.  to  10  Th. 

Paper.— Gilt  Paper,  &c.,  from  5  Th.  to  10  Th. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this,  that  the  present  tariff  of  the  Zollverein  is 
not  at  all,  in  the  important  articles,  based  on  low  duties.  Since  the 
years  1843  and  '44,  it  has  been  a  high  protective  system.  The  average 
of  duties  upon  all  manufactured  articles  would  far  exceed  that  of  the 
American  Tariff  of  1846. 

We  propose,  as  a  specimen  of  the  success  of  the  protective  system  of 
Europe,  to  briefly  set  forth  the  progress  of  the  Zollverein  since  1835. 

The  object  to  which  the  Government  has  especially  devoted  itself, 
in  a  financial  respect,  is  the  encouragement  of  the  beet  sugar  manu- 
facture. 


APPENDIX.  429 


For  this  purpose,  a  duty  on  refined  Sugar  was  laid  in  1840  of  nearly 
100  per  cent. ;  and  on  raw  Sugar  of  more  than  100  per  cent,  for  com- 
mon use,  and  of  about  70  per  cent,  for  the  manufactories. 

On  the  former,  the  amount  of  revenue  from  the  duties  sank  from 
279,754  thalers  in  1836  to  14,580  in  1850. 

Raw  Sugar  yielded  in  1837  only  5,067  thalers,  and  has  since  sunk  to 
1,080  thalers  in  its  import  duties. 

The  quantity  imported  has  diminished  of  refined,  from  38,888  cwt.  in 
1836,  to  1,905  cwt.  in  1851 ;  and  of  raw,  from  1,064,998  cwt.  to  781,503. 
The  internal  production  of  Beet  Sugar  has  grown  from  25,000  cwt.  to 
736,215.  Yet  with  all  this  immense  tax  upon  the  foreign  article,  the 
consumption  of  Sugar,  for  every  purpose,  during  these  fourteen  years, 
has  only  increased  from  1,032,418  cwt.  up  to  1,356,722  in  1851,  or  from 
an  average  of  4.04  Ibs.  to  each  inhabitant  up  to  4.52  ;  the  population 
having  grown  from  twenty-five  and  a  half  millions  to  nearly  thirty  mil- 
lions. A  most  manifest  failure  and  loss,  so  far  as  this  attempt  to  bol- 
ster up  the  home-manufacture  of  Beet  Sugar  is  concerned. 

As  a  mere  question  of  revenue,  too,  it  has  equally  proved  a  losing 
operation.  The  whole  amount  of  taxes  and  duties  on  imported  and  do- 
mestic Sugars  fell  from  an  average  of  6.26  sgr.  (about  15£  cents)  per 
head  in  1838,  '39  and  '40,  to  4.63  sgr.  (about  11  cents)  per  head  in 
1851 ;  though  the  tax  on  home  Sugar,  (from  the  beet,)  had  been  raised 
to  six  times  its  original  amount  during  those  years. 

The  whole  production  of  Beet  Sugar  in  the  Zollverein,  from  1840  to 
1850,  has  amounted  to  3,727,480  cwt ;  the  taxes  on  this  for  the  ten 
years  to  3,946,495  thalers. 

The  established  duties  on  the  same  quantity  of  Cane  Sugar  would 
have  amounted  to  18,647,400  thalers,  leaving  a  deficit  in  this  financial 
operation  to  the  Treasury  of  14,700,905  thalers,  or  of  about  $12,000,000 
for  ten  years.  This,  be  it  remembered,  not  counterbalanced  in  any  de- 
gree by  the  additional  cheapness  of  Sugar  to  the  people.  As  for  the 
employment  given  to  home-labor,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  more  labor 
has  been  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  Beet  Sugar,  than  was  formerly 


430  APPENDIX. 


in  the  importation  and  exchange  of  Cane  Sugar ;  while  against  this 
must  be  balanced  the  loss  of  the  Colonial  market  for  German  linens, 
which  were  given  in  exchange  for  the  Sugar,  and  besides,  this  immense 
taxation  for  ten  years,  which,  in  some  form,  must  come  out  of  the 
pockets  of  the  people. 

Iron. — The  article  of  Iron  is  a  no  less  plain  instance  of  the  bad  re- 
sults of  the  protective  system  of  the  Zollverein.  The  last  fifteen  years 
have  been  remarkably  favorable  to  the  manufacture  of  Iron.  Twenty- 
five  hundred  miles  of  railroads  have  been  built  during  that  time  in  the 
Tariff-Union  of  Prussia.  There  has  been  through  the  world  a  rapid 
progress  in  all  the  mechanic  arts.  From  1834  up  to  1844,  Pig  Iron 
was  admitted  duty  free,  and  the  consumption  of  it  through  the  whole 
Zollverein  increased  from  2,492,736  cwt.  up  to  6,629,736,  or  from 
11.60  Ibs.  to  21.46  Ibs.  per  head  of  the  whole  population — a  gain  of 
about  90  per  cent. 

After  the  placing  a  new  duty  on  Pig  Iron,  and  raising  the  duty  on 
Bar-Iron,  in  1844,  the  consumption,  for  all  purposes,  fell,  in  the  first 
three  years,  to  16.37  Ibs.  per  head,  or  24  per  cent ;  in  the  second,  to 
14.55  Ibs.,  or  about  30  per  cent.  „  There  is  every  probability  that  the 
home  manufacture  of  Bar-Iron  would  have  fallen  off  still  more,  had  not 
the  Belgian  Pig-iron,  by  a  special  exception,  been  admitted,  in  1845, 
on  a  duty  of  16  per  cent.,  when  all  other  Pig-iron  paid  nearly  100  per 
cent.  The  manufacture  of  both  Pig-iron  and  Bar-Iron  reached  their 
ultimum  in  1847,  and  has  been  falling  off  since,  Bar-Iron  rising  from 
1,534,558  cwt.,  in  1834,  to  over  4,000,000  in  1847,  and  falling  again  to 
3,429,054  in  1850.  The  price  of  Iron  in  the  Union  through  all  these 
years,  despite  the  immense  protection,  have  varied  with  the  English 
prices,  and  have  only  in  a  slight  degree  been  cheapened.  The  1,000  Ibs- 
Bar-Iron  cost,  in  1834,  §37  50  ;  in  1840,  $41  50  ;  in  1847,  $39  25  ; 
in  1850,  $34. 

In  the  first  three  years  of  the  Zollverein,  English  Bar-Iron  cost  78 
per  cent,  less  than  the  Prussian ;  in  the  last  triad,  it  cost  110  per  cent, 
less. 


APPENDIX.  431 


So  much  for  the  economy  of  "  Protection "  for  Iron  in  the  Zoll 
verein. 

Coffee. — The  duties  upon  this  article  have  averaged  79  per  cent.,  and 
are  now  about  50  per  cent.  Its  use  both  for  home-consumption  and 
export,  may  fairly  be  considered  one  test  in  such  a  people  as  the  Ger- 
man, of  material  prosperity.  The  import  in  the  Tariff  Union  in  1836 
was  about  547,000  cwt. ;  in  1850,  about  733,000.  The  export  in  1836, 
43,242  cwt. ;  in  1850,  49,129,  or  in  all,  the  average  per  head  in  1836, 
1.96  Ibs. ;  in  1850,  2.28  Ibs.  A  poor  advance,  if  this  heavy  duty  be 
considered. 

Cotton. — Raw  cotton  has  been  duty  free.  Cotton  thread  has  ave- 
raged a  duty  of  2j  per  cent.  Cotton  goods  pay  now  from  33i  to  50  per 
cent.  The  importation  of  raw  cotton  has  advanced  from  175,377  cwt. 
in  1834,  to  494,298  cwt.  in  1850.  The  increase  of  imports  over  ex- 
ports in  cotton  yarn  and  goods  has  been  from  195,728  cwt.  in  1834, 
up  to  545,283  in  1845,  and  has  then  sunk  to  492,640  cwt.  in  1850. 

Silk. — The  duty  upon  Silk  has  also  been  small,  averaging  about 
5|  per  cent ;  though  now  upon  Silk  goods  it  varies  from  5  to  10  per 
cent.  The  German  manufacturers  have  had  to  contend  not  only  with 
the  great  experience  of  the  French  operations,  but  with  the  protection 
of  the  French  Government ;  an  export  premium  of  4|  per  cent,  being 
offered  to  the  French  manufacturers  by  the  State.  Yet  the  exports  of 
Silk  goods  from  the  Zollverein  exceeded  the  imports  in  1837  by  3,079 
cwt.,  and  in  1850,  5,540  cwt.  ;  and  the  use  of  silks  for  all  purposes  in- 
creased from  3,890  cwt.  in  1837  to  7,050  in  1850. 

Woolen  Goods. — Not  so  close  estimates  can  be  made  in  regard  to 
these.  The  duty  on  Woolen  Yarn  has  not  averaged  quite  2  per  cent. 
The  duties  now  on  Woolen  goods  vary  from  20  to  50  per  cent.  Coarse 
Wool  is  duty  free.  There  has  been  in  general  an  improvement  under 
the  Zollverein,  though  not  important. .  The  whole  production  of  Wool 
in  1841  was  443,451  cwt. ;  in  1847,  446,933.  The  use  of  Woolen  Yarn 
for  all  purposes  in  1841  and  '43  averaged  in  the  Union  1.17  Ibs.  per 
head  ;  in  1844  and  '47, 1.07  Ibs.— a  falling  off  of  about  8.5  per  cent 


432  APPENDIX. 

In  Linen  Goods,  owing  to  the  much  greater  use  of  Cotton  Cloths, 
and  to  the  loss  of  the  colonial  market,  there  has  been  a  diminution.  No 
complete  statistics  are  to  be  obtained.  Of  rough  linen,  the  export  falls 
off  from  25,429  cwt.  in  1834  to  13,330  in  1850  ;  of  linen  thread,  from 
6,338  cwt.  to  2,188  in  1850;  colored  and  printed  linen  falls  from 
101,720  cwt.  in  1834  to  58,552  in  1850. 

Nearly  all  other  articles  of  consumption  which  indicate,  in  their  gene- 
ral use,  the  well-being  of  a  people,  have  fallen  off  in  quantity  oiiice  the 
beginning  of  the  Zollverein. 

In  the  large  cities,  the  average  consumption  of  rye  four  falla  from 
245  Ibs.  per  head  in  1831  to  230  in  1845  ;  while,  in  wheat,  the  average 
in  1836  of  93.31  Ibs.  is  only  93.3  in  1843,  and  99  Ibs.  in  1845. 

Spices  of  every  kind  average  0.18  Ibs.  per  head  in  1837,  the  same  in 
'46,  and  only  0.16  Ibs.  in  1847. 

The  same  diminution  appears  in  the  use  of  luxuries — wine,  to 
bacco,  &c. 

On  the  whole,  from  these  statistics,  one  great  fact  must  be  clear — 
that  the  Zollverein,  as  a  high  protective  system,  has  not  succeeded. 

Since  the  advance  in  duties  in  1845,  there  has  been  a  falling  off  in 
the  production  of  almost  every  article  of  importance,  and  this  before  the 
disturbances  from  the  revolutionary  movements  had  begun.  As  a  gene- 
ral fact,  the  Union  has  been  most  prosperous  with  the  articles  not  pro- 
tected by  high  duties  ;  yet  even  in  these — as,  for  instance,  the  linens — 
the  evil  effects  of  the  burdensome  duties  in  other  articles  have  been  felt. 
No  more  striking  instance  of  the  bad  economy  of  high  protective  or 
rather  prohibitive  duties  can  be  found,  than  in  the  most  strenuous  and 
expensive  efforts  made  by  the  Prussian  Union  to  protect  their  iron  and 
sugar  manufactures.  An  immense  financial  loss  and  disturbance,  as 
these  statistics  show,  have  been  almost  the  only  result^  One  branch 
has  been  bolstered  up  to  the  weakening  of  another.  The  people  have 
paid  what  was  never  returned  to  them  in  the  cheapening  of  the  article ; 
the  channels  of  business  have  been  interrupted  at  the  caprice  of  the 
Government,  and  endless  dislocations  and  disturbances  occasioned,  which 


APPENDIX.  433 


no  one  afterward  could  guard  against  or  prevent.    As  a  profitable  pro- 
tective system,  the  Zollverein  must  be  considered  a  failure. 


No.  II. — THE  STEUERVEREIN. 

A  neighboring  and  rival  Union  to  the  Prussian  Zollverein  has  been 
the  Import  Union  of  Hanover.  This  association — the  Steuerverein—  • 
dates  from  a  Treaty  in  1831  with  Brunswick,  by  which  portions  of  that 
State  are  included  under  the  Hanoverian  Tariff  system.  During  the 
succeeding  ten  years,  various  small  States  were  added.  In  1841,  Bruns- 
wick, as  a  whole,  retired  from  the  Union  and  joined  the  Zollverein.  la 
1848,  the  Steuerverein  consisted  of  the  following  States  and  popula- 
tion : — 

Hanover,    1,719,857       Provinces  of  Brunswick ...     13.fcsf5 

Oldenburg  and  Knyphausen    ....   225,910       Provinces  of  Prussia     1J.2E.I 

Schaumburg  Lipp« ....   23,895 

Total  1,09:  Cxi 

This  Tariff  Union  was  based  on  low  duties,  and  proved  wonderfaliy 
successful.  The  revenue  from  the  duties  was  far  greater,  in  proportion 
to  the  population,  than  in  the  Prussian ;  while  the  average  consump- 
tion of  articles  of  luxury  and  comfort  equally  exceeded  that  in  other 
parts  of  Germany. 

"We  take  this  table  of  the  average  receipts  per  head  from  duties,  from 
Jlubner's  Jahrbuch,  p.  210.  The  Sgr.  is  a  groschen,  equal  to  about  2| 
ecnts : 

Zottveretn.     Steimmtrein.  ZoOwrein.     Steuenerein. 

Sgr.  Sgr.                                      Sgr.  Sgr. 

1597-88 21.4  249  1846-47 2S.2  80.3 

1341-42 24.7  81.8  1843-40 28.5  28JJ 

1342-43 25.3  27.9  1849-50 24.6  SL3 

1844-45 2a8  80.6 

19 


434  APPENDIX. 


The  following  is  a  table  of  the  average  consumption  per  head : 

Zottverein.    Steuervereln.                                 ZoUvcrein  Steuervtrein. 

Ibs.                   Ibs.                                             Ibs.  Iba. 

Coffee  1510                  20.25  Wine    2.85  1T.05 

Rico  3.45                   8.30  Sugar  and  Syrup   ....28.35  41.60 

Tropical  Fruits  ......  2.T5                    5.30  Iron  for  rail-roads  ....  8T.OO  42.00 

Tea    10                   1.05  Iron  for  other  objects.  .77.40  110.00 

The  following  abstract  will  show  some  of  the  relative  duties  in  the 
two  Tariff  Unions  and  in  Austria.  It  is  taken  from  a  semi-official  doc- 
ument called,  "  A  Comparison  of  the  Boundary  Import  Duties,  &o., 
by  REDKN— Frankfort,  1848."  The  Thaler  is  worth  about  75  cents  : 

•ein.  Steuerverein. 

Sgr.              Th.  Sgr. 
free. 
1 
12 

1  Of 

15  07 

6  4 

6  4 

6  4 

12  8 

12  T* 

3  10 

12  7* 

12  7* 

To  all  familiar  with  the  prosperity  of  Hanover  under  this  low  Tariff 
system,  the  announcement  was  very  surprising  that  she  had  formed 
(September,  1851)  a  Treaty  with  Prussia,  and  would  henceforth  be  a 
part  of  the  Zollverein.  For  this  movement,  political  much  more  than 
financial  reasons  were  the  cause.  Austria  was  at  this  time  pressing 
strongly  on  Prussia  her  demands  for  a  universal  German  Tariff  Union. 
It  was  to  be  based  on  her  favorite  system  of  high  protective  duties.  If 
she  succeded,  Hanover  would  inevitably  be  forced  later  into  the  Union, 
and  become  involved  in  an  association  which  might  ruin  her  commerce. 
It  was  better  for  her  to  take  the  Prussian  protective  duties  than  the 


Austria.                 Zottw 

Th. 

Sgr. 

Th. 

Cotton,  per  cwt  

1 

n 

free. 

Cotton  yarn  

3 

»i 

S 

Cotton  goods  

72 

27J 

50 

Bar  iron,  per  cwt    

8 

22* 

8 

Steel    

........    3 

22* 

1 

Iron  works,  fine  

37 

15 

10 

Glass,  gilded  

18 

t 

10 

Copper  wares,  per  cwt  

87 

15 

10 

Leather  goods  

63 

14* 

22 

187 

181 

20 

Eaw  Sugar,  per  cwt  

9 

10 

8 

«SiIk  goods  

624 

8* 

110 

"Woolen  goods,  fine  

114 

17* 

50 

APPENDIX.  43j 


Austrian  prohibitive.     Prussia,  too,  offered  her  flattering  inducements 
in  the  scale  of  division  of  the  revenues. 

For  Prussia  herself,  it  was  a  vital  measure.  In  two  years,  the  term 
of  the  Zollverein  would  expire,  and  if  notice  of  a  change  were  not  now 
given,  she  was  bound  to  the  Union  till  1865.  The  South  German 
members  were  becoming  more  and  more  attached  to  Austria.  Cassel, 
who  ruled  the  connection  between  her  provinces,  was  already  under 
heavy  obligations  to  the  Viennese  Ministry.  They  might  be  enabled, 
in  the  coming  years,  to  force  her  to  a  financial  Union  with  Austria. 

In  a  commercial  view,  it  was  vastly  more  important  that  she  should 
be  united  with  Hanover,  than  with  all  South  Germany  together.  In 
alliance  with  the  Steucrverein,  she  would  secure  the  connection  between 
her  Eastern  and  Western  provinces — the  great  road  by  Magdeburg 
from  Berlin  to  Cologne  ;  she  would  hold  possession  of  all  the  great 
rivers  in  the  North,  and  gain  a  speedy  outlet  to  the  sea  through  the 
Hanoverian  ports. 

It  will  give  an  idea  of  the  losses  for  Hanover  in  this  measure,  to  com- 
pare the  costs  of  certain  articles  under  the  two  Unions. 

For  a  ship  of  700  tons,  731  cwt.  of  iron  are  reckoned,  according  to 
the  Lloyd's  estimate,  necessary  for  anchors,  chains,  &c.,  in  the  outfit. 
These  cost  in  Hanover,  inclusive  of  freight  and  duty,  3,000  thalers.  In 
Prussia,  7,000  thalers— or  a  difference  of  $3,000  which  Hanover  must 
pay  under  the  Prussian  Tariff.  If  imported  direct,  ready-made  from 
England,  they  cost  in  the  Steuerverein  260  thalers.  In  the  Zollverein, 
2,348  thalers.  Iron  knees  cost  for  one  such  ship,  in  Prussia,  1,900 
thalers  ;  in  Hanover,  740  thalers— a  difference  of  160  per  cent,  against 
the  latter.  Iron  nails  cost  100  per  cent,  more  in  the  Prussian  than  the 
Hanoverian  Union. 

The  treaty  is  to  come  into  operation  on  Jan.  1, 1854,  and  shall  ex- 
tend to  December  31, 1865. 

Should  the  present  Zollverein  be  dissolved  by  the  retiring  of  the 
South  German  States,  the  new  Union,  in  connection  with  Hanover, 
would  consist  of  twelve  different  States,  and  20,330,000  inhabitants. 


436  APPENDIX. 


No.  HI. — THE  AUSTRIAN  UNION. 

AUSTRIA  has  always  been  a  constant  friend  to  high  Protective  Tariffs. 
In  MARIA  THERESA'S  time,  the  importation  of  all  goods,  which  could 
possibly  be  manufactured  in  the  country,  was  forbidden.  The  theory 
of  commerce  being  that  the  gold  which  was  carried  out  from  the  Aus- 
trian States,  was  'so  much  loss.  In  consequence,  even  on  tropical 
productions  and  "  colonial  wares,"  the  highest  possible  duties  were 
laid. 

When  the  Empire  was  reconstructed  after  the  fall  of  NAPOLEON,  the 
same  system  was  continued  and  extended  by  the  Emperor  FRANCIS. 
Nothing  prospered  under  this  mediaeval  policy,  and  attempts  were  made 
in  1835  to  reform  it.  They  failed ;  and  until  1848,  the  only  changes 
were  the  removal  of  some  prohibitive  duties,  to  be  replaced  by  exorbi- 
tantly high  protective  duties  ;  and  the  lowering  of  the  taxes  on  colonial 
goods,  as  it  was  found  that  the  smuggling  defied  all  the  precautions  of 
Government.  In  addition  to  this  "  Protective  Tariff,"  the  State 
enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  salt,  tobacco,  and  gunpowder.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  with  Hungary,  the  Austrian  Government  issued  various 
"  memorials  "  with  reference  to  a  change  of  their  Tariff-system,  and  a 
Union  with  Germany. 

In  the  memorial  of  December  30, 1849,  the  Ministry  declare  that  they 
"  recognize  it  as  a  need  of  the  public  administration  to  pass  over  from 
a  prohibitive  to  a  protective  system,  and  to  prepare  thereby  a  nearer 
connection  with  Germany." 

Various  communications  and  negociations  were  entered  upon  with  the 
other  States  of  Germany  for  this  same  object — a  Tariff  Union — but 
without  much  success.  At  length,  the  news  went  over  Germany  of 
the  sudden  union  of  the  Zollverein  with  Hanover,  and  of  the  invitations 
to  a  "  Conference  "  at  Berlin,  to  consider  this  matter  of  a  universal 
German  Revenue  Union.  Almost  at  the  same  time,  (November  25, 


APPENDIX.  437 


1851,)  the  Austrian  Government  put  forth  a  new  Tariff,  and  an  invita- 
tion to  a  general  conference  in  January,  1852,  at  Vienna,  for  the  same 
purpose.  Of  the  Tariff,  I  shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter.  In  this 
Assembly  at  Vienna,  six  States  of  the  Zollverein  met — Bavaria,  Sax- 
ony, Wurtemberg,  Baden,  the  Hesses,  and  Nassau.  Prussia,  and  the 
remainder,  together  with  the  Mecklenburgs  and  Holstein,  declined  all 
share  in  the  proceedings. 

The  six  States  above  mentioned  held  a  separate  Convention  (April, 
1852,)  in  Darmstadt,  in  which,  after  various  resolves,  they  conclude  that 
if  Austria  will  pledge  them  their  Tariff  revenues  in  the  interval,  they 
will  enter  into  no  new  relations  with  the  Zollverein  until  1853,  when 
the  negociations  now  in  process  between  the  Austrian  Government  and 
that  Union  will  be  terminated. 

For  Austria,  this  question  of  the  Tariff  Union  is  more  than  a  finan- 
cial question. 

Among  the  pamphlets  and  works  qnoted  at  the  beginning  of  these 
articles  is  one  recognized  by  the  Prussian  press,  as  a  semi-official  Aus- 
trian document — "  Die  Zoll-conferenz  zu  Wien."  (The  Tariff  Con- 
vention at  Vienna.  In  this  work  the  whole  subject  is  argued  with  an 
earnestness,  such  as  no  matter  of  revenue  would  ever  call  forth.  It  is 
a  basis-principle  of  the  Austrian  policy  that  Austria,  as  a  whole,  must 
be  united  with  Germany.  As  long  as  Hungary  and  her  Italian  pro- 
vinces are  separated  from  her  German,  so  long  the  Empire  is  not  secure. 
But,  incorporated  in  the  German  League,  she  has  all  Germany  pledged 
to  support  her,  and  to  put  down  insurrections. 

SCHWARZEXBERG'S  unceasing  efforts  to  bring  Hungary  and  Italy  into 
the  German  Union  have  failed — France  and  England  have  protested 
and  Prussia  has  steadily  opposed. 

What  could  not  be  done  on  the  political  ground,  perhaps  can  be  on 
the  financial.  The  great  aim  of  Austria  now  is  to  make  the  Empire  and 
Germany  one  in  revenue.  Every  motive  which  could  reach  Prussian 
pride,  and  honor,  and  interest,  is  employed  in  the  above  Brochure. 

To  the  enthusiastic  lovers  of  German  unity,  the  picture  of  a  united 


438  APPENDIX. 


Fatherland  is  presented — when  Germans  shall  have  one  Tariff  and  one 
revenue  ;  when  a  common  scale  of  duties  shall  hold  at  Hamburg  and 
at  Venice  ;  from  Stralsund  and  Bremen  to  the  "  Iron  Gate"  of  Hun- 
gary, and  the  coast  of  the  Adriatic.  The  conservatives  are  warned  ol 
the  immense  unoccupied  class  of  laborers  which  Free  Trade  shall  pro- 
duce— rabble — the  fomentors  of  revolution  and  outbreaks.  The  Free 
Traders  are  told  that  at  present  their  theory  is  only  an  "  ideal," — and 
that  they  will  act  the  rational  part,  to  promote  Free  Trade  at  home,  as 
a  preparation  for  Free  Trade  abroad.  If  English  iron  and  French  silks 
are  admitted  free,  all  the  laborers  in  those  branches  in  the  Zollverein 
must  become  paupers,  and  their  support  be  thrown  on  the  agricultural 
classes. 

In  union  with  Hanover  and  North  Germany,  Prussia  must  be  drawn 
into  this  destructive  policy  of  Free  Trade.  The  inhabitants  of  her 
northern  provinces,  and  of  the  coasts  of  the  Baltic  and  the  German 
Ocean,  will  always  have  an  ineradicable  prejudice  in  favor  of  cheap  iron 
and  cheap  manufactures  from  England.  They  will  drink  French  wines, 
if  they  are  lower  than  Austrian  ;  and  they  can  never  be  induced  to  pre- 
fer dear  colonial  goods  for  the  sake  of  building  up  manufactures  in 
Vienna. 

For  her  manufactures,  Prussia  will  have  an  almost  boundless  market 
in  Hungary,  while  that  country  in  return  will  pour  forth  her  corn  and 
wine  into  Germany.  By  this  Unfon,  thirty-eight  millions  of  men  will 
be  added  to  the  Zollverein,  of  which  twenty  millions  shall  be  pure  con- 
sumers. At  present,  says  the  Brochure,  30,000,000  thalers  are  carried 
away  annually  by  the  emigrants  to  America. 

Under  a  universal  German  Tariff  Union,  Hungary  would  again  revive 
in  prosperity,  and  something  of  this  great  export  of  men  and  money 
would  be  turned  towards  her  unoccupied  lauds  to  aid  agam  in  the  well- 
being  of  the  Fatherland. 

Prussia  is  reminded  of  a  recent  season,  when  human  beings  were 
dying  by  the  thousands  from  famine  in  Silesia,  and  just  over  the  Aus- 
trian border,  corn  was  in  plenty.  If  these  scenes  would  be  avoided,  let 


APPENDIX.  439 


there  be  a  removal  of  all  frontier  duties,  and  the  wheat  from  the  Da- 
nube and  Bohemia  will  be  exchanged  for  the  products  of  the  weavers 
of  the  Harz,  and  of  Eastern  Prussia. 

Finally,  as  the  best  guard  against  future  "  democratic  outbreaks," 
will  be  the  union  of  the  German  Governments, — even  only  for  matters 
of  finance  and  revenue. 

On  the  part  of  Prussia,  there  had  been  three  great  objections  to  a 
Tariff  Union  with  Austria:—!.  The  Austrian  monopolies ;  2.  The  diffi- 
culties of  the  united  revenues  ;  and  3.  The  Austrian  finances. 

In  reply,  the  authors  of  this  document  promise,  almost  officially,  that 
the  Government  will  waive  their  monopoly  in  tobacco,  if  Prussia  in- 
sists, and  urge  that  at  the  worst,  this  and  salt  will  only  be  liable  to  the 
same  conditions,  with  the  two  present  monopolies — salt  and  playing 
cards — of  the  Zollverein. 

As  regards  the  division  of  the  Tariff  revenues,  the  writers  do  not 
claim  that  it  should  be  made  according  to  population,  whereby  of  course 
Austria  would  gain  a  great  advantage.  They  propose  to  leave  a 
"  Transition-period  "  of  four  years  from  January  1854  to  December, 
1858,  for  the  gradual  change  of  duties,  during  which  the  average  of 
revenues  from  each  province  may  be  calculated,  and  the  division  made 
accordingly. 

In  the  finances,  the  Government  for  the  first  time  abandons  its  old 
position.  Hitherto  the  Government  paper  has  always  been  considered 
to  be  at  par  value.  Even  when  33  per  cent,  below  its  exchange  value, 
by  a  legal  fiction,  it  has  been  given  as  at  par  for  all  taxes,  revenues, 
duties,  &c.,  &c.  Soldiers  have  even  penetrated  the  Exchange,  and  the 
gens  d'armes  have  examined  the  books  of  the  brokers,  as  if  Austrian 
bank  paper  could  be  driven  up  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  In  the 
proposed  Union,  the  ministry  admit  that  the  Government  paper  shall 
pass  at  all  Custom-houses  and  offices,  for  its  average  worth  by  the  cur- 
rent month  in  the  Exchange  at  Augsburg. 

Of  the  articles  which  shall  be  free  of  all  duties  in  this  Union,  are 
mentioned,  the  raw  products  of  the  field,  garden,  forest,  and  the  mines ; 


440  APPENDIX. 


certain  materials  for  manufacture,  as  dye-woods,  sulphur,  potash,  salt- 
petre ;  certain  manufactures,  as  raw  silk,  rough  linen  yarn,  pack-thread, 
sail-cloth,  straw  and  basket  goods  of  common  kind  ;  cheap  wood,  brick 
and  porcelain-wares  ;  and  books,  pictures  and  cards  on  paper  manu- 
factured in  the  Union. 

Most  of  these  articles,  it  should  bo  mentioned,  were  already  free  in 
the  Prussian  Union.  In  addition,  wine  is  to  pay  3  thlr.  ($2  25)  per 
centner;  Iron  7i  sgr.  (18  cents)  per  cwt.  These  are  all  the  propo- 
sitions, thus  far  made  by  the  Austrian  Government. 

We  will  now  briefly  compare  the  Austrian  and  Prussian  Tarifls,  as 
showing  the  change  which  the  Zollverein  must  make  to  enter  the  Aus- 
trian Union : 

PRUSSIAN  TARIFF.  AUSTRIAN    TAP.IFF. 

Thlr.  Thlr. 

Cotton  Goods  50  per  cwt.        Gotten  Goods,  13},  33}  50,  C6|,  100 

Linen        , 1,  20,  30  and  60       „  and  166|  per  cwt 

Silk  „      55  and  110       „  Linen       „      6,  13},  50,  66}  and 

Woolen     „      20, 30  and  50       „  166f     „ 

Leather  and  Leather  Goods,  6,  8,  Silk          , 166}  and  400      „ 

10  and  22       „  Woolen    „      8},  83},  50,  66},  100 

Ironwares  1,6,  and  10       „  and  166»     „ 

Leather  and  Leather  Goods,  5, 10, 

16f,  33},  and  66f      „ 
Iron  Wares,  1},  3},  6|,  10,  and  16|      „ 

The  Austrian  Tariff,  whose  rates  are  here  given,  is  to  come  into  ope- 
ration in  January,  1854.  It  is  distinguished  from  the  Prussian,  by 
grades  of  duties,  proportioned  to  the  fineness  of  the  article  ;  so  that  on 
almost  all  of  the  commonest  manufactures  the  Austrian  duty  is  lower, 
though  its  average  of  duties  is  much  higher. 

In  the  event  of  a  Union  between  the  Zollverein  and  Austria,  the 
principal  exports  from  the  latter  to  Prussia,  will  be  the  following  . 
Bohemian  glass,  steel  and  iron  wares,  shawls,  leather  gloves,  book 
binders' goods,  porcelain  and  earthen  wares,  silk  webs  from  Milan,  Como 
and  Vienna,  silver,  works  of  art,  cloths  and  stufis.  The  fine  table-covers 


APPENDIX. 


441 


from  Bohemia  and  Moravia  would  compete  with  those  from  Saxony  and 
Westphalia.  Leather,  Yienna  matches,  white  lead  and  fine  wood  wares 
would  be  in  much  demand  in  the  provinces  neighboring  to  Austria  on 

the  west.  Especially  would  the  unequalled  Hungarian  wines  be  ex- 
ported to  every  part  of  Germany. 

Comparison  of  Products  in  Zollverein  and  Austria : 

ZOLLVKEEIN.  AUSTRIA. 

Thlr.  Thlr. 

Ironwares 85,200,000  19,200,000 

Glass  Manufactures 8,500,000  10,500,000 

Bum  of  all  manufacture  in  mineral  and  metallic  sub- 
stance, glass,  copper,  iron,  &c.,  &c.  172,200,000  110,450,000 

Cotton,  Spinning  8,200,000  9,600,000 

Wool           „         29,600,000  22,200,000 

Flas            „          58,000,000  81,200,000 

Cotton,  Weaving 67,800,000  31,200,000 

Wool           „          i. 64,200,000  48,000,000 

Linen           „         94,800,000  45,000,000 

Silk i 25,690,000  11,700,000 

Total • 250,490,000  135.900,000 

ZOLI.VSRKIN.  AUSTRIA. 

TMr.  Thlr. 

Leather  and  leather  goods 42,400,000  27,000,000 

paper    15,700,000  4,920,000 

Material  for  literary  business  of  all  kinds   14,750,000  4,200,000 

Sum  of  all  manufactures    642,840,000  878,060,000 

STEAM   ENGINES. 

For  Navigation.        Railroad*.  Manufacture. 

Zollverein ••                           <»  '*• 

Austria «                           240  464 

For  ad  purpou*. 

ST..::  :::- 


APPENDIX. 


SPINDLES   AND   LOOMS. 


ZOIXVKEEIN.                                                      AUSTRIA. 

Spindles. 

Looms. 

Spindles. 

Loomt. 

Cotton             .  . 

....          902030 

160,000 

1,267,980 

178,000 

"W  ool 

750  000 

00,000 

650,000 

56,000 

Linen  

50,000 

450,000 

20,800 

300,000 

Bilk    .. 

14,000 

11,800 

Total 1,702,030  684,200  1,938,780  545,800 

In  the  quality  and  general  value  of  her  manufactures,  Austria  is  far 
inferior  to  the  Prussian  Union.  In  the  cheapness,  however,  of  the 
coarsest  and  most  common  articles,  as  coarse  cutlery,  coarse  linen,  cot- 
ton bagging  and  cloths,  stockings,  &c.,  she  is  superior — a  fact  due  in 
part  to  the  very  low  rate  of  wages  for  operatives  in  that  Empire. 

In  iron  manufacture  and  machine  spinning  both  Unions  are  weak. 

In  wool  carding  and  flax  spinning  (by  machine)  Austria  falls  behind, 
while  in  cotton  spinning  she  is  superior  to  her  rival. 

In  earthenware  and  porcelain  manufacture,  the  Zollverein  leads,  while 
in  glass  manufacture  she  is  inferior  again. 

In  leather  productions  the  Zollverein  stands  first,  though  in  a  few 
common  articles,  as  ladies'  gloves,  gloves,  &c.,  Austria  has  best  suc- 
ceeded. 


Austria  has  been  through  Europe  the  great  representative  of  the 
ultra,  high  protective  school,  for  some  thirty  years.  Her  resources 
are  immense,  both  in  agriculture  and  in  mineral  wealth.  She  has  great 
rivers,  roads,  railroads,  and  harbors,  one  of  which  has  been  the  leading 
commercial  city  of  the  world.  We  propose  briefly  to  examine  the  ef- 
fects of  this  system  upon  her  development. 

The  worth  of  the  whole  produce  of  the  mines,  coal,»copper,  iron, 
gold,  silver,  &c.,  &c.,  has  fallen  from  10,443,163  florins  in  1823, 
and  13,874,213  florins  in  1833,  to  7,906,901  florins  in  1847 ;  showing 
in  twenty-four  years,  a  loss  on  the  most  important  articles  of  production 
of  about  33  per  cent. 

The  use  of  iron  for  a1!  purposes  averaged  before  1848, 11  pounds  per 


APPENDIX.  443 


head  in  Austria ;  in  the  Zollverein,  21.79  pounds  ;  in  England,  94  ; 
Belgium,  41;  France,  34  ;  Sardinia,  33. 

An  equal  attempt  with  that  of  the  Zollverein  to  bolster  up  Beet-Sugar 
manufacture  has  been  made,  and  with  like  success.  With  a  heavy  duty 
laid  upon  foreign  sugars  for  about  twenty  years,  sugar  is  dearer  than  it 
was  before  the  protection.  And  for  every  200,000  cwt.  produced  of 
beet  and  potato  sugar,  500,000  cwt  of  cane  sugar  are  imported  an- 
nually. The  duty  on  cane  sugar  is  7  florins,  ($3  15)  per  cwt.,  and  the 
tax  on  beet  sugar  1  florin,  (45  cents)  so  that  as  a  matter  of  revenue 
merely,  the  State  loses  about  a  million  of  florins  per  annum. 

COFFEK. — In  1814,  the  duty  on  this  article  was  put  down,  and  the 
import  has  rison  from  149,705  cwt.  in  1844,  to  22G.275  cwt.  in  1850. 

In  products  of  the  soil,  the  total  exports  fell  from  30,409,356,  in  1844, 
to  26,593,500  in  1847,  and  to  18,924,800  in  1850. 

During  the  last  throe  years,  the  diminution  in  every  article  of  export 
and  production  has  been  enormous.  But  along  with  the  injuries  to 
trade  from  high  duties  must  be  reckoned  the  losses  and  disturbances 
from  their  late  revolutionary  struggles.  So  that  from  the  latest  statis- 
tics, no  conclusive  result  can  be  obtained  as  regards  the  question  of 
"  Protective  Tariffs  "  in  Europe.  Still,  enough  has  already  been  given, 
in  the  comparison  of  the  high-protected  manufactures  and  commerce  of 
Austria,  with  the  low-tariff  system  of  Hanover,  or  the  medium-pro- 
tective system  of  Prussia,  to  show  that  no  argument  in  favor  of  high 
protection  can  ever  be  taken  from  its  success  in  Germany.  Equally  in 
the  Protestant,  liberal  Prussia,  and  the  despotic  Austria,  has  the  high 
tariff  economy  failed.  And  the  States  of  Germany  may  almost 
measure  their  commercial  and  material  success  by  the  approach  which 
each  has  made  to  the  policy  of  Free  Trade. 

What  the  results  of  these  negociations  between  the  Austrian  and 
Prussian  Tariff  Unions  will  be  cannot  yet  be  affirmed.  My  own  belief 
is,  that  the  Prussian  King,  scared  by  the  old  phantom  of  revolution,  will 
yield  to  the  demands  of  Austria ;  and  that  an  Austrian  high-protective 
tariff  will  cover  Germany  from  one  end  to  the  other. 


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